Aftermath
by Beauty and Brutality
Summary: "She needs you Peeta," Haymitch says "No she doesn't," I reply "she has Gale, and I'm a danger to her anyway." Katniss and Peeta move to a new District 12, their whole lives where moulded around the games. Their paths cross, and they're back together. But what happens when a familiar face comes home? Pre-Epilogue. Spoilers. And I don't own THG series, sadly. Everlark all the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**Hey guys! This is our first Fan-Fic that we are writing together, and I'm writing it with FightforFiction (aka my Twin), so go check out her stories! Please read and review, happy reading xxx ~ A & N (I'm 'A' btw) **_

**Peeta's P.O.V - **

I stare at the building that stands in front of me, it's untouched from the last time I saw it. I walk up the stairs with one bag in hand that holds hardly anything. I get my keys out of my pocket and unlock the door, but before I walk inside I turn to the house that is opposite mine, '25 yards to be exact', I recall my self-saying in an interview before the 75th Annual Hunger Games, those 25 yards feel like an eternity away, Katniss being the subject of my torture, the reason I have seizures, the person I have loved my whole entire life, even when I thought she was a Capitol mutation. I stare for a while, reminiscing over the times that were shared there, dinners that included Haymitch and I, the time Gale was whipped by Thread and Prim and Una cared for him, when Katniss and I worked on the herbs book; and then I look at my house, a place where nothing exciting ever occurred, it isn't filled with any happy memories or family members, its filled with sorrow and anger.

I walk inside and place my bag next to the couch in the living room, I make my way into the kitchen, trying to maneuver my robo-leg and pull a glass from the cupboard and pour myself a cup of water. As I'm drinking I notice a big 'Welcome Home' hamper sitting on my dining room table, I walk over and read the note that sits next to the hamper –_ Peeta, Welcome Home! We hope that you have settled yourself in, and just a small annotation: we have removed any sharp or dangerous items from your home due to your mental state. We hope to see you soon! From your friends in the Capitol – _

_Plutarch Heavensbee and President Paylor. _

I laugh at the phrase "mental state" and toss the note back on to the table, I go through the hamper and find many different things: Capitol sweets, cheese buns, District eleven bread, canned lamb stew, baking ingredients, and scotch. I pick up the scotch and examine it, "I won't be needing this", I say to myself and then I find my self making my way over to Haymitch's house, I knock on the door loudly and hear a few groans and curses, the door opens and Haymitch stands there half-drunk, "It took you long, enough," he slurs.

"Hey Haymitch, I brought you a homecoming gift," I say while holding up the bottle of scotch,

"Don't mind if I do," he says while taking the bottle off me and taking a hasty pull of it, "come on in," he continues as he gestures for me to enter, I walk past him and he then gestures to the living room, I sit down and he sits opposite me.

"Its been a while Peeta," Haymitch says casually

"Yeah it has," I reply

"When did you get back?"

"Just a few hours ago,"

"Have you gone to see _her _yet?" He asks

"Not yet," I say shaking my head and looking down at my hands that sit in a tight fist in my lap,

"She needs you Peeta," he says

"No she doesn't," I reply "she has Gale, and I'm a danger to her anyways,"

"Peeta, Gale is in District Two, and yes she does need you, just as much as you need her," he gets up from his chair an makes his way to the bar that sits in the corner of the room, I take this opportunity to scan the room, there are empty liquor bottles everywhere, it stinks in here, and it looks like no one has lived here for at least ten years. Haymitch notices my visual disgust, and says, "Hazelle and the kids moved to District Two with Gale, and Sae tells me that Katniss doesn't want anything to do with him, apparently she believes that he killed Prim," I look up at him and see that he is serious,

"She thinks Gale killed Prim?" I ask in shock

"Yeah she does, but he didn't kill her of course, one of his 'traps' did," he says before taking a swig from his bottle, "but she still hates him," he looks at me and furrows his brow, he comes and sits opposite me. We sit like that for a while, in silence. Haymitch just stares at me and I try to avoid his gaze by looking around the room, after a while I ask,

"Seriously Haymitch what's your problem?"

"Sorry, nothing, I was just thinking," he replies

"About?" I push

"Nothing that concerns you," Haymitch says, and he states it clearly I might add. He gets up and walks towards the window, he peeks behind the curtain and then back at me, he looks like he's lost in thought, "I'll be right back," he says and before I know it he has walked out the front door. I sit there for about five minutes before he gets back, and even before I can say a word he tells me to get a jacket.

"Haymitch what are we doing?" I ask while trying to get my jacket on and walking towards the front door.

"We are going to Sae's house to help her," he replies

"With what?" I ask

"Dinner. We are going to help her with dinner, and we're going to see Katniss," I stop mid-step and Haymitch turns to face me, his eye-brows are raised and he looks proud of him self.

"I can't, No I can't, Haymitch…it is way too soon, and what if I have an '_episode_' in front of her, she'll freak" I run my hands through my messy hair, "I just can't do it I'm sorry… I love her, I really, _really _do, but it's just… just to soon," he looks at me and places his hands on both my shoulders, I drop my head and my hands hang limp at my sides, "I'm sorry," I choke out,

"Don't be Peeta, you really love her right?" I nod in response, "and wait what do you mean by 'you'll have one of your episodes'? I thought the capitol fixed those."

I stare at him and reply, "They almost did… I ever hardly get them anymore. They're less frequent, but when I do get them they're bad," he nods and looks at me with pity, "I don't want your pity Haymitch, I want her, I want Katniss," I say out loud.

Haymitch claps me on the back, "I'll go cancel the dinner," he goes back to the study and calls Sae to tell her we're not coming.

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**Katniss' P.O.V-**

I hear Sae talking on the phone, she sighs and I hear her muffled voice, "That's a shame Haymitch, will talk to you soon…Huh? Oh yes she's doing fine, okay bye… bye…bye." She hangs up and she potters around in the kitchen for another few minutes.

Sae walks in holding a tray with a glass of water and bowl of stew, she sets it down on the coffee table and I nod to her in thanks.

"Katniss, once you finish dinner you should have a bath or shower," Sae says softly, like she's trying not to startle me, like she's near a wild animal.

I look over to Sae and smile, "Thank you Sae, you've done enough," Sae leaves the room with a curt nod. I look back to the fireplace and stare at the blazing fire, the giver of warmth, the giver of light, can save lives, but can rip one away just as fast. I remember being a symbol of flame, _the girl on fire,_ the spark in the rebellion, the light that people used to follow for freedom and I ripped thousands of people from their families and friends. I shift in my seat remembering Buttercup is sitting in my lap, I stroke his matted squash yellow fur, he makes a small meow noise and nudges my hand with his nose wanting more affection. I feel obliged to give him comfort since _her _death… oh I almost forgot; I was engulfed in flames as I watched her being blown to bits by Gale's trap. I clench my fists in anger, remembering my best friend _betraying_ me for what? Making President Snow look bad? Using capitol hovercrafts to make the people of Panem hate the Capitol for blowing young children to bits? I dig my nails into my palms to stop me from lashing out, most likely on Buttercup. I keep my cool and set Buttercup on the ground, he objects as I pick up the tray and set it on my lap. I only eat a small bit of Sae's wild dog and cabbage stew, I take sips of water in between bites making me feel fuller, my old hunger habits coming back to me.

I set the tray back on the table and inviting Buttercup to sit on my lap again, he gingerly jumps up and he nuzzles into me. I gently pat him and I hear a faint purr come from him, I feel fatigue settle in; I am so tired from sitting here all day, staring into oblivion, trying to fill the void that has appeared in my soul, the labyrinth that is my being. I drift off, into a sleep filled with nightmares of the previous Hunger Games and the once vile human being that was President Cornelius Snow.

_**Hey guys how'd you like it? PLEASE leave a comment. We have written like SO MANY CHAPTERS! So yeah :D xx ~ A & N**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

_**Herro my young ones, hope you are all fantabulous. Did you like the first chapter? We hope so! Please read and review (we'll probably all ways say that :\) **_

**Peeta POV- (****づ￣ ****³****)****づ**

I wake with a jolt, a thin layer of sweat coats my body. I get up and strip out of my pajamas and step into the shower, letting the ice-cold water run down my body, it feels like shards of ice are being stabbed into my back and the cold is spreading through my body, right to the bone. I turn off the tap and dry myself, I slip into a pair of old blue jeans from the days before the games; they don't fit me any more, too baggy around my waist, it shows how much the last two years have taken a toll on me. Where a mixture of muscle and fat used to be is just skin and bone and patches of angry pink flesh. I grab a belt and a loose white shirt and head down to the kitchen; I put a pot of tea on and decide to put away the contents of my hamper. I decide to have the district 11 bread with my breakfast, I go to get a bread knife and find that they have been taken away, oh right Heavensbee took them away because I'm not '_mentally stable.'_ He has a valid point.

After I eat my bread and drink my tea, I head to Haymitch's house and bang on the door.

Surprisingly he answers, obviously with a heavy hangover, "To whom do I owe this pleasure?"

I smile half-heartedly and reply, "Morning Haymitch, may I come in?" He nods and opens the door to his bombshell of a house. I sit at the table and Haymitch swipes the bottles off the tabletop and sits down.

"So why are you so chipper?" He asks groggily, I shrug and he says "No nightmares last night?" I shake my head, "Oh so there were nightmares?" I nod and a thought comes to mind,

"Haymitch, may I borrow some silver ware?" I ask; he looks confused at the question, "Why would you want some silver ware? You love in the freaking Victors Village, shouldn't you have everything that you need at hand?" he shakes his head, I chuckle a little and explain the note that Heavensbee left me, "Sometimes," Haymitch says, "I want to slap that man," he gets up from his seat and goes to the kitchen, he opens the top draw of the cupboard and gets out 5 butter knifes, 5 forks, 5 dessert spoons, 5 teaspoons, and a chef's knife, he then puts them into a bag and places them on the table in front of me, "You're welcome," he says while sitting down at the table, "Thanks," I reply with a smile.

I stay at Haymitch's for a while, we played poker for an hour or two and then I helped him clean up a bit. Once I finally leave, Haymitch has a clean kitchen, living room, and dining room, I promised him I'd try get him a maid or cleaner or something. As I'm walking home, I notice my front garden is in a horrific state, so I go to the shed that is at the side of my house looking for gardening tools, but of course, '_we have removed any sharp or dangerous items from your home due to your mental state'_. So instead I go over to Haymitch's and pull out what I need: a shovel, a wheelbarrow, a watering can, a miniature pitchfork, a bucket, a rake, a pair of gardening gloves, and some other stuff. I dump all the supplies into the wheelbarrow and bring it back to my place, I see some small children playing in the front yards of some of the houses that are up the road, these Victor Village houses could of housed two or three families that lived in the seam before the war. I quickly erase that thought from my head, too painful.

I run inside and grab my wallet, and as I walk down the front steps of my house I see Sae leaving Katniss's, she smiles at me and walks over, I meet her half way.

"Peeta! Oh my! You look great!" she says with a warm smile,

"It's nice to see you Sae, how have things been?" I ask with a smile, she nods forwards and we walk together towards the town,

"I have been great thanks for asking, and Katniss, well she'll get there," I tense at the comment and look at Sae, who sees this.

"Is she really that bad?" I ask worried, I knew she'd take Prim's death badly, but I needed to know how badly,

"She gets better day by day, still has nightmares though, and she hasn't showered or washed her clothes and hair in weeks," she says with a sigh, and continues, "So Peeta what are your plans for today?" trying to lighten the mood, I play along and reply,

"Well my garden is terrible so I am planning to go get some seeds from the grocer that I saw set up in the town when I arrived home,"

"What kind of seeds?" she asks,

"I'm not sure, some fruit or vegetables I suppose, and maybe some flowers or herbs," She nods at this,

"Here come with me, I'll get you some seeds, I have a few kinds from when I traded at the Hob," she says as she takes my arm and guides me towards her small house, it's quaint and is packed with many things from chairs to old tires, she brings me inside and sits me down at the dining table, "I'll be back in a jiffy," she says warmly, "just you wait a second."

Sae returns a few minutes later holding a box, she sets it down in front of me, there must be at least sixty different kinds of seed in there all in small calico sacks that are labeled with their names. I look through the bags and find some that I am familiar with due to the games, and also helping Katniss with the herb book. Some catch my eye: Basil, Zucchini, Thyme, Chives, carrots, eggplant, parsley, I sift through them taking notice of the better ones to plant and the ones I won't really need. Soon enough Sae is getting me a small wooden box of my own to place all the small bags of seeds I have into, I thank her and make my way out side, I look down at the box and think for a moment, _something is missing, _I look around and see some rose bushes lining Sae's small front yard. Flowers in all colors bloom, I look to a small yellow flower and it hits me like a ton of bricks, _Rue._

I walk back inside, to Sae who is sitting at the table sipping at her tea and reading a book; she looks up at me, and smiles,

"Sae," I ask, "Where did you get those flowers?" referring to the ones I saw outside, she looks puzzled for a few seconds,

"Oh, those flowers!" she exclaims, "I got those from the woods, at this time of year flowers of all kinds are blooming everywhere," I smile and nod my head curtly,

"Thanks Sae I better be going, thank you for the seeds,"

"No worries Peeta, anytime," she says as she gives me a hug, "I'll see you soon, I hope?" she asks as a question,

"You definitely will," I reply with a smile.

Before I know it I'm at my house collecting the shovel, gloves and wheelbarrow, and making my way to the forest. I walk past the children that are playing in the yards of the other victor village houses, they all stop playing to greet me, and to then continue playing their games. I walk through the meadow to then be standing here at the fence, the thing that held us captive for so many years, the thing that was supposed to keep us safe, but it was the thing that drove us insane; outside this fence was the source that kept Katniss's and Gale's family alive for years, it was their safe haven. I feel as if I am intruding when I pass through the now non-existent fence, and into the forest, I carefully place my robo-leg making sure not to trip or startle the animals that are around. As I get deeper into the forest I see that Sae is right, this time of year there are many different kinds of flowers on bloom from Lavender, to Gardenias, to Dahlia's to… and that's when I see them, I walk over to them and bend down and breathe in their sweet scent, I grab the gloves and slide them on and then I grab the shovel and start carefully digging around them.

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**Katniss' P.O.V-**

Sae comes and says goodbye to me one last time before she leaves for the day, I watch her from the dining room table as she walks towards the front door, she turns around and gives me a small wave, I return it with a small smile. As she walks out the door, I walk towards the window and peek around the curtains, and there she is walking down the steps and instead of walking home she walks straight towards something, no someone, Peeta.

He stands there with his prize-winning smile and he runs a hand through his hair, his hands, the hands that I have held in my hands so many times before, the hands that kept me alive, the hands I tried to keep alive. I stop staring and close the curtains, and then I look back again, they're walking away smiling and chatting. All these thoughts flood my brain, _why hasn't he come and see me? Where has he been? Is he okay? Does he still love me?_

I shake the thoughts out of my head but let one slip back in – _Peeta's Home_.

I walk into the bathroom and look in the mirror, the girl that stares back at me is emaciated and she looks scared, her hair is matted and her eyes are tired, she looks deathly. She's not the girl that Peeta is no _was_ in love with.

I walk back into the kitchen and clean up after Sae and I, she said she'd come back tomorrow and clean it up. Once I'm done I decide to give buttercup a bath, he hates it at first but then he starts to like the water running through his filthy fur, I didn't have any animal soap to wash him with so I just used my Vanilla body wash that I got as a 'wedding' present from Effie. Once Buttercup is done I wrap him in a towel and put him on the couch, he yawns and slowly and silently falls to sleep, I wish I was like that, not scared to sleep, not scared to face what has haunted me for years now.

I walk into the kitchen and put on a pot of tea, I push my self up so I am sitting on the kitchen counter and swing my legs back and forth, I get lost in thought until the kettle brings me back to my senses, I prepare my self a cup of tea and grab the herb book, I make my way to the living room and pull open the curtains, I then sit down in an arm chair that faces the window and start looking through the book. A few minutes later I look up to see Peeta, with a wheelbarrow and shovel, he's heading down the road, to where I'm not sure. I look down at the book again and continue flicking through the pages.

I wake up to the sound of crunching, wait I fell asleep? And I had no nightmares. I get up from the arm chair and make my way to the window and there Peeta is with a shovel digging into my garden, I then look behind him to see a wheelbarrow full of… Roses? I storm out of the front door and before I know what I am doing I am screaming at him, "HOW DARE YOU PLANT ROSES AFTER WHAT _HE_ DID TO US? YOU ARE SICK!" Peeta looks startled and a bit taken back, I look from the roses to him and then back to the roses, I look closer and walk towards them. Primroses. He's planting Primroses. I look back at him he's standing there sweating through his white shirt showing off his still well toned body,

He says with a smile, "Nice to see you to Katniss."

_**Ooooooooooooooh, what's gonna happen? Please, Please, Please, Please read on and tell us what you think, what should happen, and what should change! Love you all xxx ~ A & N**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_**Hey guys, how you doin'? So we're keepin' this short and sweet - Please read and review! Love ya's xxx ~ A & N**_

**Katniss P.O.V**

I quickly run back inside, _shit_, he saw me like… this; I look like I got mauled by a fucking bear. I walk into the bathroom… yep mauled by a bear. I go into the living room and see that Buttercup is still in his peaceful slumber. I walk towards the window that faces the garden where Peeta is working; he's planting Primroses in my garden. _Prim_. At this moment its like it has all finally caught up to me, _Prim_, is dead; she's gone and she's never coming back. And Gale he killed her, he betrayed me, and he did it just to prove a point.

I find myself making my way up the stairs to my bedroom. I pass _hers_ on the way, I stop and walk back to her door, and I turn the knob and push the door open slightly. I step in and scan the room, it's like she never left. Her favorite cardigan is still slung over the chair that sits in front of her desk, her bed is made but it is somewhat wrinkled, her curtains are drawn and the book she was reading lays open on the bed with the book mark stuck between two pages. I walk over to the corner of the room and sit with my knees pulled to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. I sit like this, in a ball, for a while, just scanning over the room and taking in her scent.

I hear Sae come through the front door and she calls me, "Katniss! Honey I brought you dinner!" I hear her pottering around and then I hear her say, "Where is that girl?" She makes her way upstairs and she obviously knows that I'm in Prims old room, because I hear her gasp. She makes her way slowly and carefully towards the door and pokes her head through the gap, she spots me, "Hey Katniss, I brought dinner," she makes her way slowly towards me. She bends down in front of me and cups my head in her hands; she wipes away the tears that I didn't know were cascading down my cheeks. "Hey honey it's okay, it's okay," she sooths as I wrap my hands around her waist and her arms wrap around my shoulders, "Katniss it's okay, it's okay, she loved you so much and you know that, it's okay to cry," she sooths into my hair. She pulls back, and pushes the hair out of my face, "come on," she says while pulling me to my feet, "dinner time."

I sit with Sae at the table and eat my food as I always do, a spoon of food and then a sip of water. Sae is making small talk that I just nod to, but then she says something that catches my off guard,

"So I saw Peeta today, he's looking well,"

"Yeah I saw him too, he's looking good," I reply as I take another bite

"You did?" I nod, "well that's great," she says, "What'd you talk about?" she asks curiously,

"Well he was planting something in my garden and I went out to see what, and then I saw roses and immediately thinking about President Snow so I lashed out at him," she nods as I talk, "but then I took a closer look and saw that they were… Primroses. And then he said that it was nice to see me, and then I ran back inside," she smiles at me and takes my hand, she says

"Well, that's interesting," she gets up from her seat and takes her bowl and glass with her, she gestures with her head to my bowl and I nod she takes it along with her bowl and walks into the kitchen, leaving me at the tabled sipping my water.

**Peeta's P.O.V **

As I'm working, Katniss comes out and yells at me, at first I don't know what to think but then I realize she doesn't recognize the type of roses that they are. She walks towards them and stares at them she looks back at me with a blank expression on her face, I stand up as straight as I can, which is hard because of my leg and smile at her, "Nice to see you too Katniss."

She rushes back inside, I laugh a little and continue my work. When I'm done, it's about 5pm and there are six or seven Primrose bushes lining the front of Katniss's house and there are all types of flowers lining the front of my house, I thought that Katniss could have the Primroses to herself because, well because of Prim.

I sit on my front steps sipping a bottle of water and wipe my fore head with the back of my hand, I think about what just happened. That's when Sae appears in front of me, "Good evening Peeta," she says in her soothing voice, I give her a smile and a nod, "Good evening to you too, Sae," she returns my smile with one of her own. We make small talk for a while before she asks,

"Would you like to come to dinner with me?"

"Are you going to Katniss's?" she nods in reply, "I don't think so Sae, it's to soon," she gives me a sad and disappointed look, she gets up from her spot beside me,

"Well that's too bad Peeta, but you should join us one night," She says, "Goodnight, Peeta,"

"Night, Sae," I reply as she walks away, she gives me a wave before she enters Katniss's house.

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I'm lying on the couch reading a book when the lights seem to get shimmery and everything looks artificial. I sit up and shut my eyes, it's too bright in here; I feel this surge of anger course through me and I clench my hands into fists and I try to control the attack. Images start to rattle my mind – she's hurting people, no she's _killing_ them, brutally murdering them. I see the dead bodies that lay around her and I start to recognize a few: Thresh, Madge, Finnick, Rue, Cinna, Cato, Clove, Coin, Wiress, President Snow, Fox face, and…. Prim. _Katniss_ killed _Prim_. I sit there looking over the dead bodies; I look up to see her staring at me. I look at her face, but it's not _her_, she's different, her clenched teeth are sharp and dangerous, she's wearing her mocking-jay suit but its covered in blood, her eyes aren't their natural happy shade of grey but they're black pits, and they have a look of absolute hatred and anger in them. She starts towards me a machete in one hand, and her bow and quiver slung over her shoulders, I hear a scream in the distance but then I realize it's me, I'm the one screaming. She's getting closer, the hand holding the machete raised and ready to hack at me. For some reason I start to shake, my vision goes blurring and everything gets less shiny, until everything goes black.

I wake up with a small wet cloth on my forehead; I blink my eyes and shake my head to get the dizziness away. I look up to see a dark figure sitting across from me in one of the armchairs, I have to squint my eyes to see whom it is…. Haymitch. I can tell it's him because he's sipping at a glass, it contains some form of dark cloudy alcohol; he looks over at me and smirks.

"Hello Sleeping Beauty," he says,

"Who?" I ask confused

"Never mind," he says while waving an arm in the air, "How was your sleep?"

"Horrific," I reply, wait how did he get in here? "Haymitch," I start, "how the hell did you get in here?" He looks amused at this question,

"I remember where you kept your spare key, you showed me just incase I needed anything. Remember?" I do recall telling him something along those lines, so I nod, "Good," he says.

We sit there for a while chatting, discussing Panem's new government and the drastic changes that we can see to district twelve. Haymitch attacks the bar that sits in the corner of my living room, while I prepare some food: Canned Lamb Stew, with some district 11 bread.

When I place the stew and bread in front of Haymitch, he happily takes the bowl and shoves the stew into his mouth. After a few minutes Haymitch looks up at me and studies me for a while,

"Can I help you Haymitch?" I ask with raised eyebrows,

"What happens in one of your episodes? Or attacks, what ever you call them," he asks curiously, I slip another spoon of stew into my mouth,

"Well now that the capitol has made them less frequent, which is good, they have become more realistic and it's harder to wake myself up from one," he nods his head and looks down at his now empty bowl,

"But what happens in the dreams, what do you see?" he pushes,

"Katniss… But she… She is usually mutated in a way and sometimes it takes me a while to realize it's her. The attack I just had before was one of the 'mild' attacks – Katniss she was killing people, some were from the games, some were just people we know like Madge, Cinna or… Prim." I explain some of my other dreams and he nods in understanding,

"Peeta, I…. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you. I knew I had bad dreams, but come on, this is ridiculous," I nod tersely and stand up and start clearing the table,

"Thanks Haymitch, for coming over to wake me up. It means a lot,"

"Well when I wake up to a scream that doesn't belong to me, I get very… alarmed," he stands up and pats me on the back, "I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asks hopefully,

"Yeah I guess so," I reply, "I might go into town and get some groceries,"

"Yeah good idea I'll join you," he says as he is walking towards the front door.

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Once I finish the dishes I go up stairs to have a shower, and wash off all the dirt and sweat that has coated my body. I strip out of my dirty clothes and I look at my self in in the mirror - some parts of my skin are fine and then other parts are an angry shade of pink or even red; some patches of my hair has fallen out; there are scars scattered all over my body, big and small; and then there's my leg, the capitol did a great job of it and it looks great. All these marks and scars are constant reminders of what and how much I have lost over the last two, nearly three years. But then again they are also a reminder that I am a survivor (except for my recurring nightmares and 'attacks'), that I survived _two_ Hunger Games, I survived a war. I step into the shower and let the warm water pour over me. I think about how Katniss looked today: battered, bruised, scared, small in a way. Her eyes were still their striking shade of grey, but there was something else there, defeat. I decide to stop thinking about Katniss, so I don't trigger another 'attack', but I can't. She's everywhere in my mind, from my most wonderful to my most repulsive memories. I can't get her out of my head.

Before I go to bed I take two pills that Dr. Aurelius prescribed me, they're supposed to 'subdue my mind' so that it won't be bad if I have a nightmare during the night because one nightmare can trigger a seizure. I slip under the cool silky sheets and wait for sleep to finally take over, it takes a while, but when it finally does come.

It's terrifying.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_**Howdy there partners, how ya hangin'? You lovin' it so far? We freaking hope so, so as we say in every authors note: read and review! We love ya's all xxx ~ A & N (happy reading)**_

**Katniss's P.O.V **

I wake up in screaming Prim's name, telling her to run. I sit up and pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. I sit in a ball and repeat the lines Dr. Aurelius told me, they're supposed to 'calm' me down:

_My name is Katniss Everdeen,_

_I am 17 years of age,_

_My home is district 12,_

_I was in the 74__th__ and 75__th__ annual Hunger Games,_

_I escaped,_

_My sister is dead,_

_My mother lives in district 4,_

_Peeta was taken prisoner by the Capitol,_

_He's home know,_

_And he hates me,_

_Gale, my best friend, betrayed me,_

_No one loves me. _

Once I repeat them until I am at least somewhat 'stable' I realize that I am covered in sweat and I stink, whatever, who cares. I get up out of bed and check the clock 8:32am; Sae should be here soon so I walk down stairs and into the kitchen. I put on the kettle on and push myself up on the counter, and swing my legs; I catch myself staring out the window at the Primroses that Peeta planted. _Peeta_. A warm sensation runs through my body, he is practically the only family I have left. My mind finds the memory of when we were in the arena, on the beach, and I kissed him. It wasn't one of our 'stage kisses' it was a _real_ kiss, it made me tingle all over. I would do anything to feel that way again.

Sae arrives at about 9-ish and makes us breakfast, she tells me her plans for the day and asks me if I have any. "No, I think I'll just stay inside and read a book or something," I reply,

"Katniss, honey, you really need to go out side. Summer is just around the corner, you need some sun, you have been cooped up in this house for ages," she says frustrated,

"Sae, I know this is frustrating, but I need time…. It's hard to explain, it's just…. Ughhh! I'm sorry, Sae," I say getting annoyed myself,

"Okay," she says, "But you have to come out of here someday, I'm not going to let you rot inside this house forever,"

"Don't worry, Sae, that's not gonna happen," I reply while giving her a smile.

Sae leaves at 10, she says she'll be back for dinner, but I say I'll just heat up some leftovers. Once she's gone I read for a while and then I clean up a bit. At about 11 I decide to take a nap, go up the stairs and I see that the door to Prim's room is still open. I walk inside and take my spot in the corner, I sit there for a while taking in her familiar scent. I find myself getting up and walking towards her bed, I lie down and rest my head on her pillow. Memories flood my mind of her – Her happy smile, her striking blue eyes, her beautiful blonde hair, her fair skin – she was perfect. Tears start to roll down my cheeks, and before I know it its like a freaking waterfall on my face. I sit up and wipe the tears away, I look at the wall that is opposite her bed, picture frames are scattered all over it, and I smile at them and walk over to them. I scan the pictures, each one bringing an old memory to the surface. I feel as if she is in here with me. All of a sudden I have to get out of here. I have to get out of this room. I walk down to the living room and slump down in the big armchair that sits by the window. I lean my head back and hope that sleep will soon consume my body, but it doesn't. Out side I can hear laughter and chatter, so I peek out around the curtain, Peeta, Haymitch and Sae are joking around. I feel an abrupt urge to go and join them, but I feel as if I'd be intruding, so I just fight the feeling and grab a book from the bookshelf.

I hear a knock at the door, and I look up from my book to the clock, 4:21pm. I push myself up off the seat and make my way to the door, when I open the door I see Sae holding a pot of food in one arm, and bread under the other, and she is holding the hand of her Granddaughter Lilly. "Afternoon, Sae, Lilly." I invite them inside, and Sae walks straight into the kitchen to get dinner ready, and Lilly just sits in the living room playing with her old rag doll. I walk over and sit on the couch opposite Lilly and watch her play. A smile creeps onto my lips as I watch her play, her thin Light blonde hair is tied up in a high ponytail with a faded pink ribbon, and her grey eyes are wide and happy as she plays with her doll.

Once Sae and Lilly leave I decide to go to bed. As I turn down the covers on my bed and slip under the covers, I hear laughter coming from next door. I get up and peek out the window, Peeta, Haymitch, and Thom are laughing and drinking something, alcohol maybe? I watch them for a while longer before slipping back between the cool sheets of my bed. I lay there for a while consumed in thought, unable to fall asleep, my head filled with questions, opinions and different feelings. It takes awhile for sleep to arrive, and I don't even notice it overcome me.

**Peeta P.O.V – **

I wake up with a splitting headache, I shouldn't of let Haymitch get to me last night, "One drink, c'mon Peeta! You never have any fun!" I shouldn't have listened to that bastard; I notice I'm draped over Haymitch's couch, Thom is asleep on the floor. I sit up and I feel the nausea rise up in me and I swallow the bile that makes its way into my throat; I get up and make my way into the kitchen, where I find Haymitch sprawled across the table–top. I pry the knife from his hand and fill a vase up with cold water, I pour it over his head- just like Katniss did this time last year - Haymitch jolts awake, swinging his blade-less hand around.

"Bloody kids!" He spits, I push him down into a seat and place the vase back onto the bench top.

"Good morning to you too Haymitch," I say, "Have a nice night?"

Haymitch picks up a half full bottle of scotch and says, "It was just like most nights, but I just had company this time." He takes a swig and rests his head on his arm.

Thom walks in holding his head and his eyes blood shot, "Hello ladies."

"Morning Thom," I say, "Would you like any breakfast?"

Thom shakes his head and sits down at the table with Haymitch, "No I can't eat when I feel like someone's taken a piss on my soul."

I nod and look around at Haymitch's pig-sty-of-a-home. "Haymitch," I say, he grunts in response, "You need to get your house cleaned." Haymitch waves me away and I shrug. "I'm gonna get going." Thom and Haymitch say their goodbyes and I head out. The morning is crisp and the sun is just poking out of the clouds, I suck in all the fresh air I can to rid the smell of Haymitch's filthy home. I decide to walk out into the town and look at the reconstruction of 12, I find the old wiping post that Gale was strapped only months ago and I find all the charcoal black store fronts. I wander through the rubble until I come a across a black stove, it takes me a second to realize that it's the bakery oven. I walk backwards slowly and make my way out of the square away from the town and into what was once the seam. Black dust is _everywhere, _anything I look at it's covered in black dust; I stick my hands into my pockets and keep walking until I hit the meadow. A second grave is being dug up now, with the help of machinery and the remaining population of district twelve.

I walk past some few familiar faces and I smile and nod my head at them. I find that I have gotten myself at the river; I walk along the bank watching mocking jays play in the trees. I turn once again into town and find Leevy and Delly chatting away in front of the old Justice Building.

"Peeta!" Delly calls her contagious smile flashing.

I smile and make my way over to them; they both hug me and kiss me on the cheek. "Hello Leevy, Delly," I greet, "how have you two been?"

Leevy puffs her cheeks out and replies, "We're planning on rebuilding the town and the shops."

I nod and Delly asks, "And we were hoping Peeta if you could reopen the bakery."

I stand there shocked and I run the thought of having my own bakery, before I know it I have accepted, and Delly and Leevy cheer. We continue on talking until Delly waves to someone behind me, I turn around to see Katniss carrying her game bag and her bow and arrows. "Hello Peeta," She say almost happily, "Delly, Leevy." Delly and Leevy greet Katniss and hug her.

"So how have you been Katniss?" Leevy asks.

Katniss shrugs, "I'm great thanks."

I smile and Katniss smirks. "Can I tell her the good news?" Delly asks Katniss, I nod my head and Delly says, "Peeta is going to reopen the Bakery."

Katniss smiles and I can't contain mine, she turns to me and says, "Congratulations Peeta that is great news." I thank her and she starts walking towards the Victors' Village. I catch up with her and walk along side her.

"So how have you really been Katniss?" I question.

Katniss's grey eyes lock on mine, and she answers, "I'm taking it one day at a time."

I nod my head and say, "I know what you mean." We continue polite small talk as we enter the Victor's Village and I walk Katniss toward her porch, and I feel my mind racing, just before she opens her door I blurt, "Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?"

Katniss turns around a ghost of a smile plays on her lips and she replies, "Yes Peeta that sounds wonderful."

**Ohhhhh Katniss and Peeta gettin' it onnnn. So we hope you guys like it, sorry it took so long to update, school is crazy! Please leave a comment to tell us what you do and don't like! We love ya's xxx ~ A & N **

**(****ﾉ****ヮ****)****ﾉ*****:****･ﾟ****ﾟ･****: *****ヽ****(****ヮ****ヽ****)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys sorry we haven't updated in a while, we have been swamped with school coz we are in the last few weeks of school for the year and then it is SUMMER BREAK! So enjoy and please review, kisses *****muwah***** xx ~ A & N **

**Katniss's P.O.V – **

We stand there staring at each other for a while, until he breaks the comfortable silence, "Ugh, well…ummm. I'm gonna go and… ugh, get cleaned up," he stammers, I smile and nod in reply. "I'll be back in about half an hour," he states before he turns and walks over to his house. I just stand there at the front door of my house and watch him as he walks away, until he disappears into his home.

I walk inside and close the door behind me, I scan the room and process what cleaning I have to do in so little time, and then there's getting ready myself. I clean the kitchen and dining area first and then I work on the living room. I look at the clock that's sitting on the wall; Peeta should be here in about ten minutes. I rush upstairs and into my bedroom, I literally tear my closet apart trying to find something nice to wear, I settle on a simple navy-polka-dot summer dress. I walk into the bathroom and comb out my hair, as I am about to pull it back into a braid I hear a knock at the front door. I run out of the bathroom and call down the stairs, "It's open, come in!" with that the doorknob turns and Peeta enters with a grin on his face and a bag in hand. He see's me at the top of the stairs and smiles, I return the smile eagerly. I feel something in the pit of my stomach, longing? Want? I don't know but it's driving me crazy.

"Umm… well I'm just gonna finish getting ready and you can make your self at home," I say with a smile, he nods and smiles and then walks into the living room being careful while navigating his robot leg. I run back into the bathroom and comb out my hair once more, and I decide to leave it down. I look at myself in the mirror, my chocolate hair is framing my face, dark rings circle my eyes, my skin is a sickly colour, and my lips have little colour in them. My eyes skim the scars, and patches of pink angry flesh that blankets my skin. _How could anyone willingly love me?_ I say to myself. My eyes are a dull shade of bluey-grey, my skin is no longer its shade of brown but a sick shade of yellow, my body is too skinny and scrawny, and my hair looks like a birds nest.

I puff out my cheeks and frown at the woman standing in front of me. I open the top draw of the cabinet; it's where Cinna and the design team stored their make up when they were doing me up. I pull out, what is hopefully a stick of lipstick, and put it on, my lips have gone from a boring pink to a vibrant yet nude shade of pink. I smile at the already improved woman that stands in front of me.

I make my way down the stairs with a bounce in my step. When I reach the bottom I stop at look at Peeta, he has a tight white t-shirt on that out-lines his muscles perfectly and blue-denim jeans. He's sitting in the love seat, staring at the fire in the fireplace, he's obviously in deep thought. I take this opportunity to scan him; his hair is slightly scruffy, his eyes are wide and curious, the skin on his arms have scatters of scars and patches of angry pink flesh. I stare for a few minutes before he catches me, and as soon as he does a smile devours his face.

_That's who. That's who would willingly love me_, I think to myself as I smile back.

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**Peeta's P.O.V – **

I walk back to my house with a grin on my face. As soon as I get inside I get upstairs as fast as my leg will let me, I walk to the bathroom and strip down, and I hop into the shower and scrub myself all over. I wash my hair and then just stand there and let the warm water cascade down my body. I stand there for a few minutes and then I hop out, wrap a towel around my waist and make my way to my bedroom. I slip on a pair of boxers and a pair of blue-denim jeans, I then slip into a white t-shirt. I look at the clock; Katniss should be expecting me in about five minutes so I walk into the kitchen and grab some cheese buns, cookies and a bottle of wine, and then I start to make my way back to her house.

I stand at her door suddenly nervous, I hesitate before I knock on her door. Once I finally knock I hear her call, "_It's open, come in!" _I open the door and walk in, my gaze settles on the gorgeous woman that stands at the top the stairs. Her dress sits perfectly on her small structure, and her flawless chocolate hair frames her beautiful face, which is now engulfed in a white smile. I smile back and just stare, "Umm… well I'm just gonna finish getting ready and you can make your self at home," she says, I nod and walk into her living room, being careful while maneuvering my robot leg. I slump down in the love seat that is placed next to the fireplace, which is lit with dancing flames. I immediately think back to Katniss's first interview with Ceaser Flickerman, when she had that striking red dress on and she twirled for him, making her dress come alive with flames. Her face was filled with pure fun and giddiness as she sat back down in her seat, I smile at the thought, and then my mind quickly travels to the interview before the Quarter Quell when she wore her 'wedding dress' and twirled again, to have her dress be engulfed in fire and then turn into her beautiful mockingjay dress.

I'm lost in deep thought when I sense someone staring at me; I turn to see Katniss with a small smile on her face. How long has she been standing there? Anyway it doesn't matter she looks gorgeous, her chocolate hair is in soft waves that cascade down her back and shoulders, her beautiful grey eyes are wide, and her lips are plump and pink. I can't help but think she added some colour to her lips, and if she did, she did it for me. I smile and get up to walk over to her, I am careful with my leg making sure I don't fall flat on my face. Once I reach her I place my hands on her shoulders, "You look stunning Katniss," I say

"Thank you, Peeta," she says with a small blush creeping onto her cheeks,

"It's alright, I always think you look beautiful," she blushes again and then surprisingly takes my hand,

"C'mon I've got some food that Sae made for us," I follow her into the kitchen and she gestures me to sit on the stool that sits behind the kitchen bench.

I watch her for a bit as she potters around the kitchen, pulling together some food and then I remember the bag in my hand, "I forgot to tell you, but I brought some stuff," I say while holding up the bag so she can see it,

"Oh, that's very kind of you," she says with a smile while she takes the bag off of me and looks through the contents, "cheese buns, cookies, and wine, very nice Mellark," she says, I laugh in reply and watch her once more as she resumes pottering around.

When dinner was finally ready it was about 7:00. I get up from my seat and help Katniss carry some of the bowls of food into the dining room, once we set everything on the table I sit across from her and offer a small smile, "Thank you for letting me come over and have dinner with you,"

"No, thank you for coming over, it's nice to see you again," she replies with a smile "Um… how are your…. Um… Attacks? If that's what you call them?" she asks a bit unsurely,

"Oh, they're um… less frequent, but still very intense," I reply,

"Are they still about me?" she blurts, "Sorry I shouldn't of asked…" she shy's away,

"Sometimes," I reply,

"Huh?" she says,

"Well most of the times they're about you and I try to ignore them but I can't. But don't worry I hold nothing against you, Dr. Aurelius says I am improving quite a bit," I say with a smile, she smiles back and takes my hand in hers, intertwining her fingers in mine,

"That's lovely to hear…. Well the part where you're getting better…. Not the part about me being in your nightmares…" she mumbles, I laugh a little and she looks up at me with wide eyes and a smirk.

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After dinner we clean up together and make our way to the living room. Katniss plops down onto the love seat and I sit down beside her. Her leg is resting against my real leg, and I smile at her when she puts her hand on my knee.

"How's the leg treatin' ya?"

"It's good just annoying sometimes, I'd give anything for my old leg back, but such is life…." I ramble, she smiles at me and leans over and kisses my cheek, "why did I deserve that?" I ask surprised,

"For being you," she simply states.

We chat, talk, laugh, joke, and smile, for god knows how long, we also drink the wine, and eat the cheese buns and cookies. Katniss looks at the clock, "Wow, it's already 10:30," she says stunned. Katniss then turns and looks at me a small smile playing on her lips, "well I guess time flies when your having fun." We both laugh at this, and then we just stop and stare at each other. For about... I don't know how long, we sit there staring at each other. It's not an awkward uncomfortable silence - it's a beautiful, content, amazing silence. My face breaks out into a big grin and hers does too.

"You look amazing tonight, Katniss,"

"You told me that before," she laughs

"But you do, you always do. I can never, ever keep my eyes off of you for more than three seconds when we are in the same room. You are just… striking, you're easily the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen," I tell her. She needs to know. Katniss sits there with a shocked face, her eyes are set on mine, "You needed to hear that, because no one should be telling you other wise. It's just every time I see you I have this urge to hold you, not because you're weak or anything, but because… because I want to, I want to feel you beside me, and I want to hold you, and love you, and –" I stop my self from going on, afraid I'm going to embarrass myself, but I'm sure I already have.

I can feel a blush crawling onto my cheeks, so I turn my head away. But Katniss decides other wise and grabs my head and turns it towards her, she lightly presses a lingering kiss onto my lips and pulls back, I sit there stunned,

"I'm sorry I just needed to do that," she whispers, she drops her hands from my face. I look over at her blushing face and kiss her,

"T-there is nothing you h-have to be sorry about, not at all," I stutter once I pull back, she laughs her adorable laugh and then looks down at her hands in her lap. I look at the clock on the wall, "I should be going now, it's getting late," I say. She looks upset before she replies,

"Yeah it is,"

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I ask hopefully,

"Definitely," she replies with a smile, "But I'm going to go hunting in the morning, soooo…. I won't be home until about 9-ish,"

"That's fine, I've got some baking to do, and I'm also helping Thom and a few other guys clean up the town," I reply, she nods,

"Well I'll get us some meat and plants from the woods, and then I'll come and help with the town. Does that sound okay?" I smile and nod in reply,

"Well I'll see you tomorrow then," I say while standing up, Katniss gets up too and follows me to the front door.

"Bye Katniss," I say while smiling down at her,

"Bye Peeta," she replies while giving me a hug, I hug her back and then place a kiss on the top of her head. We pull out of the hug, and she gets up on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek, "See you tomorrow," she says.

I walk down the steps and walk towards my house, I turn my head to still see her standing in her door way. I give her a big smile and wave, and she returns them before turning around and walking back into her house, closing the door behind her.

I have just sat down in the living room, when everything has gone blurry. I try to fight it but I can't, so I let it take me. Everything is shiny, and fake looking. Before I can even take in my surroundings, I see her, her black pits of eyes, the blood dripping from her mouth, her chocolate braid a wild mess. She then strides towards me, and I let out a cry.

*****PLEASE READ*****

**Ohhh Katniss and Peeta gettin' it ooonnn, but guys do not worry we aren't gonna make em' get together straight away. So anyways please review, tell us what you think should happen! Gives us some ideas! And also we are gonna introduce some of our owns characters, so just review or message us what you're like and we'll make you a character! IT'S BRILLIANT I KNOW! So we love ya's xxxxx ~ A & N **


	6. Chapter 6

**Sup ma homies? We have added a new character into this chapter, her name is Sarah, and we based her off of one of our readers: ****calin na gaeilge****. ****So if you want a character based off of you then just message us and we will get working on it! We love ya's xxx ~ A & N**

**Dislaimer: WE DON'T OWN THE HUNGER GAMES SERIES. But we wish that we did!**

**Peeta's P.O.V – **

I wake up on the couch, my clothes are drenched in sweat and my back hurts. I get up and stretch all the knots out of my back; I look at the clock 5:30am and then make my way up stairs for a shower. Once in the shower I scrub all the sweat off of me, _last night I thought it was blood_. I shake my head to try get the images of 'evil' Katniss out of my head. When I hop out I chuck on some denim shorts and a white shirt and a flannel. When I put on the flannel, it takes me about ten minutes to decide if I should have it buttoned or un-buttoned. _Which would Katniss like best? _The thought keeps going through my head, after a while I give up and decide to keep it un-buttoned and roll up the sleeves.

I go down stairs and into the kitchen. I pull out the ingredients to make cheese buns: sugar, garlic powder, butter, olive oil, flour, slat, and yeast. As I am getting everything ready I realize I don't have the most important ingredient: cheese. How can I make _cheese_ buns without _cheese_, I am so freaking stupid. I grab my wallet and my runners **(A/N: we kinda pictured his shoes as like black and white Nike Free Run 5.0's, soooo yah)**, and start to walk into town. I look back at Katniss' house as I'm walking out of the Victors Village; she's probably out hunting. While I'm in town, well what's left of the District, I run into Thom.

"Peeta, how are you man?" Thom says while giving me a firm handshake, he looks down at my leg and kind of winces "Sorry man but I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that,"

"It's okay, I'm still getting used to it, and I'm good man, great actually. How are you? How have things been?"

"Good, man good. The town's coming along, we got some people coming back to help, and even people from other districts as well, so it's coming along just fine."

We stare out at the town for a bit, there is a lot of rubble and ruins. There are still a few deceased bodies lying around, but Thom is right, it is coming along.

"So Delly is thinking of re-starting the school and hospital," Thom says breaking me out of my trance,

"That sounds great!"

"You should think about re-opening that bakery of yours. We need some fresh bread here, all the stuff we get from the Capitol are stale by the time it gets here," Thom suggests,

"Yeah, yeah that's a great idea I'll think about it," I reply.

Thom and I say our good-byes and I tell him I'll be around later to help with cleaning up. I go over to the small stall that we have substituted for the grocers while we clean up twelve, I grab all different types of cheese and some different necessities.

As I'm making my way home I can feel some peoples eyes on my leg, the better bloody get used to it, this is getting annoying. Then see Haymitch tending to his geese so I decide to say a quick hello,

"Hey Haymitch, how's ya geese?" I ask,

"Peeta," he nods his head, "they are fine thank you for asking, but I'm pretty sure that Johnny over there," he says while pointing at one goose, "has a thing for Carrie," then pointing to another. I laugh at this and shake my head. "So how's Katniss, I saw you leaving her house very late last night," he asks

"She's uhh… She's good," I blush at the thought of her kissing me,

"Well that's good. What'd you guys do?"

"We just had dinner and talk for a awhile, caught up I guess," I reply

"Nice, nice. So you coming to help with the clean up?" he asks

"Yeah, I am just gonna make some bread for the week and then come help,"

"Awesome," he says, "I'll talk to you later, Bread Boy," he laughs and starts walking off,

"See you later Haymitch," I reply and make my way home.

When I get home it's about 7:15, so I start getting as much baking done as possible. In the end I have made 2 batches of cheese buns, 2 batches of croissants and some baguette's. I bag them up and put them away, I decide this'd be a good time to water the plants out side, so I grab my hat and a bucket to water the plants. I fill the bucket up at the out side tap and then start to water the thirsty-brown-looking plants. After a few more trips back to the tap all the plants are watered and are looking great, I look over at the Primroses I planted at Katniss' house and then go and refill the bucket. I make my way over to her garden and start to water the flowers.

I look at my watch after what seems like an eternity of tending to gardens, 9:46. _Katniss should be home from hunting by now_, I say to myself.

As if on cue, Katniss comes up to me, and smiles. Her game bag seems full and is slung over her shoulder; her hair is in its signature braid but it's a bit messed up, and she has a few splatters of blood on her hunting clothes. She looks beautiful as all ways.

"Aren't you hot in all those layers?" I ask gesturing to her hunting clothes,

"Yeah, roasting actually. I'm gonna go then clean the game, then I'm gonna go and rinse off," she replies,

"Cool, well I'm going into town in about 10 minutes, so maybe I'll see you there later maybe?" I ask hopefully and kind of nervously, she laughs a bit,

"Yeah you will, I'll be there in an hour or so," she replies,

"Okay, I'll see you soon then," I give her a smile,

"Okay, see you later Peeta," she says and kisses me on the cheek. I am about 100% sure that I am blushing right now,

"Bye Katniss," I reply and start making my way into town.

Katniss' P.O.V. –

I finish setting up the last snare and then I start to make my way home, with my game bag slung over my shoulder. I got a pretty good haul today: 3 rabbits, 4 squirrels, and some groosling. I also manage to gather some fruit and plants.

As I'm walking home I can hear the Mockingjay's singing so I hum a few tunes for them to copy. I soon notice that I have stopped completely to sing for them, so I start on my way again. The mockingjay's seem to be following me as I'm walking home, still hanging on to every note that I sing. Once I get out of the forest I sigh,

"Sorry boys, but the singing stops here I got to get home," I say to the birds. _I must be going mental_. I think to my self_, speaking to birds, really Katniss? _I continue on my way. As I get closer to my house I see someone tending to my garden, and it doesn't take a genius to realize that it's Peeta. I watch him, as I'm getting closer: he's stopped watering the plants and is looking around - he looks kind of worried. So I go up to him and wear a big smile.

"Aren't you hot in all those layers?" Peeta asks gesturing to my hunting clothes,

"Yeah, roasting actually. I'm gonna go then clean the game, then I'm gonna go and rinse off," I reply,

"Cool, well I'm going into town in about 10 minutes, so maybe I'll see you there later maybe?" he asks hopefully, I can't help but laugh a bit, he's so cute when he's nervous,

"Yeah you will, I'll be there in an hour or so," I reply happily,

"Okay, I'll see you soon then," he smiles his gorgeous smile,

"Okay, see you later Peeta," I say and I go up to him and kiss him on the cheek. I notice a blush creep onto his cheeks,

"Bye Katniss," he replies and starts making his way towards town.

I walk inside and start on the game: plucking, gutting and butchering. I was never good at cleaning the game. I store all the meat and fruit away in the fridge and pantry, and make my way upstairs for a shower. I scrub all the dirt, blood, and grime off of me and wash my hair. I get out and wrap a towel around my self; I re-braid my hair and then go into my room. I dress casually today; I'm going to be cleaning anyways. I settle on an old pair of denim shorts, and a white singlet. I slip on some boots, grab a hat and then head-out.

As I am walking to town I run into Sarah Browne, she was in my grade at school but she was a merchant so we didn't socialize very much, or at all.

Her beautiful blonde hair is tied up in a ponytail, and her green eyes are wide. I would definitely say that she is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met, her pale skin is glowing, her blond hair is long and lush, and her big striking green eyes are a rarity in twelve.

Sarah's family owned the tailor shop, they supplied the mines with the uniforms and even though their clothes were beautiful only merchants could afford them. I often saw Sarah with her little brothers and sisters playing in the meadow; she was always gentle and loving towards them. In school you could she that she was very confident - even now walking towards her I can see her confidence and her kindness.

As I approach she smiles her stunning smile and gives me a little wave, which I happily return. "Hey Katniss, how have you been? Good I hope," she says with her smooth and angelic voice,

"Good, Sarah, what about you? How's the family?" Her smile falters a bit when I ask this,

"Umm… Good. My Dad, my little brother, my big sister and her husband didn't get out in time. So now it's just me mum and the twins," she says barely audible, I nod and offer her a hug, which she returns,

"It's okay," I reassure her, she nods,

"I know, and I heard about Prim. I am so, so, so, sorry," she says,

"It's fine," I dismiss her with a small wave of my hand. "Are you helping with the clean up?" she nods in response, "C'mon then, we don't want to be late." She smiles and we walk into town together.

When we get there the cleaning is in full swing, people have wheelbarrows, shovels and buckets. Sarah hands me two shovels and grabs a wheelbarrow.

"Lets go work over there," she says while pointing to a spot a little further away from everyone else,

"Fine by me," I reply as me start making our way over.

After what seems like forever we decide to take a break, and make our way over to the substitute grocers to by some water and lunch. Sarah and I make small talk while eating our sandwiches and drinking our water.

"Damn Katniss, you got burnt," I turn around at the familiar voice,

"Thom, how's it been?" I say while I get up and give him a hug,

"Good, good. But you should really cover your shoulders up you got burnt pretty bad," he says while gesturing to my shoulders,

"I'm fine, a bit of colour won't hurt,"

"Fine. But don't come complaining to me tomorrow when it hits you," he says while laughing,

"She can wear this," the voice comes from behind Thom, so I sneak a glance around him and see a familiar face. Peeta. He's holding out an old flannel.

"Thanks, Peeta," I say while slipping into the flannel,

"It's okay, Katniss," he replies, a small smile playing on his lips. Thom claps his hands together.

"Well c'mon guys, lets get as much done as we can."

Sarah, Thom, Peeta and I all make our way back to work. Peeta stops me before I walk away with Sarah, "Hey Katniss, Thom, some of the guys, and I are having a little get together tonight. You should come, invite Sarah if you want to,"

"Yeah I'll definitely come, and invite Sarah too," I say with a smile on my face, he returns my smile and heads back to work. I make my way over to Sarah,

"Took you long enough," she huffs,

"Ha, Ha, Ha. Very funny,"

"Sorry, but honey you might want to turn down the flirting a little bit,"

"I was not flirting!" I say while swatting her arm, she laughs at me,

"You were too. And he was flirting right back at you," she says while pointing at me,

"He was not, and I wasn't flirting,"

"Fine, whatever you say," she says while holding up her hands in mock surrender.

We work until 5 that night, we are all knackered and ready for bed, but Thom has other ideas, "You guys coming tonight?" Thom asks while jogging to keep up with Sarah and I,

"Yeah, but we're gonna go get cleaned up first," Sarah replies for both of us,

"Yeah," I say,

"Awesome, I'll see you guys later," Thom says while jogging away,

"Hey, I'm gonna get cleaned up, I'll meet you there, okay?" Sarah says,

"Okay, see you soon," I reply while she walks away towards her house.

It is really hot so I tie Peeta's flannel around my waist, even though it's about 5:30 the sun is still quite high in the sky. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead with the back of my hand and keep on my way home.

When I get into my house, I immediately strip off my clothes and head to the shower. Scrubbing all the dust, rubble, and sweat off of me. When I get out I get dressed into a summer dress, and braid my hair. I look at my shoulders in the mirror, Thom was right: my shoulders are as red as a tomato. So I grab some cream out of the cupboard and lather my shoulders in it.

I look at the clock on my bedside table, it reads: 6:03. So I make my way down stairs and out side, to be greeted with people carrying chairs, drinks, food and instruments, some are even carrying wood. I follow them down to the other end of the Victors Village where everyone is set up. I scan the crowed, and find Sarah, Delly and Leevy taking, so I make my way over to them. "Hey Katniss," they all greet me,

"Hey guys," I reply, we make small talk for a while and then find some seats so we can rest our legs,

"God I am so freaking sore and tired," Delly complains,

"Same here sister," Leevy replies,

"Me too," Sarah chides,

"Same here," I add, "I'm going to get us some drinks, save my seat?"

"Okay," "Sure," I get in reply,

"I'll help," Leevy says while standing up, we make our way over to a bucket or a trough filled with ice and drinks, we grab four waters and make our way back to Delly and Sarah.

When we get back we see that Thom and Peeta have taken our seats.

"Hey," Leevy complains, "we told you to save our seats,"

"Sorry," Peeta and Thom say in unison. Leevy and I hand out the drinks to the girls and sit back down. Peeta grans a seat and places it beside mine,

"Hey Katniss," he says with a smile,

"Hey Peeta, how's it going?"

"Good, now that you're here," I blush at this and look away,

"Oh, I almost forgot, thankyou for letting me wear your flannel today. It saved me from burning my arms more," I say while pulling up my sleeve to show him my burn,

"Ouch, that gotta hurt," he says with a wince, "but it's okay you looked better in it anyways," he says with a wink, I blush but I hold his gaze this time.

Thom, Delly, Leevy, Sarah, Peeta and I all talk and laugh for a couple hours after that. It's about 11 o'clock before we start heading home. As I'm walking back to my place Peeta catches up with me,

"Hey," he greets,

"Hey," I reply,

"What are you doing tomorrow night for dinner?" he asks,

"Nothing, why?" I reply,

"Well I was wondering maybe you would like to come over for dinner and maybe we could… I dunno, chat, catch up?"

"That sounds good, great actually," I reply and smile at him, he smiles in return,

"Awesome, I can't wait."

For the rest of the walk we walk in comfortable silence, until we get to the front of my house, "See ya Katniss," Peeta says before placing a kiss on my forehead,

"Goodnight Peeta," I reply while placing a kiss on his jaw, he blushes and smiles down at me. I really don't want to go, I just want to stay and have him look at me all night like he is now.

"Goodnight Katniss," he says one more time before kissing me on the head again and walking back to his place.

I stand there for a while staring at his house. _I can't wait for tomorrow night_. I think to my self before heading inside.

**So what'd you think? What's gonna happen at dinner? We hoped you like it! We really don't want to rush it, so yeah! And a quick heads up, we are getting our laptops taken off of us in about 2 weeks so w won't be able to update that much like ever so we're sorry. **

**Remember to message us a character submission and to leave a review! We love you guys xxx ~ A & N **

**Question for this chapter:**** Should we speed Katniss and Peeta up a bit or slow them down, or keep them at the pace they're going? You tell us!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, what's up? WE SAW **_**MOCKINGJAY: PART 1 **_**AND IT WAS AMAZING! Remember to do a character submission! Have a lovely week xxx ~ A (It's just 'A' now coz 'N' like stopped writing it, but she'll help every once and a while)**

***** PLEASE READ – IMPORTNT AUTHOR'S NOTE *****

**And we are also looking for a new name for this Fan-Fic. We found another Fan-Fic with the same name, but their story was published first, so we are looking for a new name! Any suggestions? Thanks xxx**

**Peeta's P.O.V – **

I move swiftly around the kitchen: collecting ingredients, cleaning surfaces, mixing batters. Tonight _has_ to be perfect. Today is the day, Katniss and I will be reunited, whether it be as friends or more than friends. I'm kind of hoping it'll lead to more than friends. So that's why I need this night to be flawless, because the other night was… _a-ma-zing_.

I decide to make Katniss' favorite dinner tonight: Lamb and Plum stew, with cheese buns and hot chocolate on the side, and for dessert: French apple pie. It's kinda hard to prepare all of this food without the right ingredients, with the grocery still just a small stand, but I make do with what I've got. At about 10:30 I get a knock on the door, so I wash my hands and rush over to answer it. I'm met with striking grey eyes. Katniss stands there with her hair in her signature braid, in her hunting outfit and a bag in hand; I can't help but take her in. We stand in silence as my eyes roam her body, she coughs out of embarrassment and I blush.

"So, ugh… you still are going to come tonight?" I ask to break the awkwardness,

"Yeah, yeah, definitely. I was just dropping these off, I went hunting this morning so….." she trails off while she hands the bag to me. I look inside and see three skinned squirrels, and of course they were shot right through the eye. I smile kindly at her and she smiles back,

"Do you want to come in? I mean the place is a bit of a mess, but I could make you a coffee or something," I say while stepping aside so she can come in,

"No, no, I'll probably inconvenience you," she says with a dismissive wave,

"C'mon Katniss, five minutes tops," I push, but she just shakes her head 'no',

"Peeta I'd love to but I'm meeting Leevy, Delly and Sarah for some morning tea, and we're gonna discuss what's happening with twelve,"

"Oh okay," I say a bit disappointedly "I'll see you tonight then,"

"I'll be here with bells on," she winks and me then walks away. I watch her descend down my porch steps and then walk into town.

I'm nearly done dinner when Thom barges through the side door, "Peeta! How are you going? Fancy seeing you here, huh," he booms. I laugh and continue with dinner,

"I'm good Thom, how about you?" I ask,

"Good, good. I'm just peachy. The town in coming along well, I say about one more month and it'll be finished for reconstruction," he replies,

"That's awesome! Can't wait, and sorry I didn't come in today had a lot of work to do," I say gesturing to all the food,

"Yeah, I was wondering about all this. Katniss comin' over?" he asks while reaching for a cheese bun. I smack his hand away and give him a somewhat glare,

"Yes she is, and I'd prefer if you didn't eat our dinner,"

"Okay, okay. I'll leave you alone lover boy, have a good night," Thom says while getting up from his seat and heading to the side door,

"Bye Thom. I'll see you tomorrow," I say with a wave,

"Bye Peeta," he replies "And also-" he stops in his tracks "if you hurt her I will beat the living shit out of you, okay?" I nod in response and he continues on his way out.

The rest of the day is uneventful. I read a book, clean a bit, and even talk to Dr. Aurelius for a while, he says it sounds like I'm going well and he's sending me some more medication on the next train that should arrive around mid next week. It's around 5:30pm when I start to get ready for dinner; I have a shower and get dressed, and then I set the table for us placing all the foods in the right place and I put the dessert in the fridge.

Katniss arrives at around 6-ish and for a while we just smile a stare at each other. But damn she's amazing, even if she can't see it herself, everyone else can. We eat dinner making small talk and occasionally laughing, she praises my lamb stew and cheese buns, whilst dipping the cheese buns into her hot chocolate. We joke about Haymitch and his geese, and at one point I'm brought to tears from laughing so much. This night is going perfectly.

During dessert Katniss tells me about an idea that she has, to do something like her mothers plant book but do it with people instead. Like we (or I) draw a picture in the book or stick in a photo and then we write a paragraph next to their faces to remind us who they were or are and how much we love/loved them.

But it's towards the end of dessert when everything goes blurry, I blink a couple of times to will it away. But of course I can't. It starts to get shiny, and artificial like. Katniss turns my chair around so I am facing her and she kneels in front of me grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me gently, talking to me soothingly.

"Peeta, honey, come back to me. You can fight it I know you can. Please just come back to me, don't go into that dark place," she says, her voice pleading. I look at her desperate eyes; she's on the brink of tears, but out of what? Desperation? Pity? I can't tell, but she looks terrified. Slowly Katniss' face begins to morph. Her once pleading grey eyes have turned into black pits, her carefully braided hair is turning ratty and disheveled, her perfectly clean clothes now stained with blood: other people's blood. Her grip on my shoulders tighten and her nails dig into me, I can't help but cry out in pain. But as she's distracted with watching me cry and speaking to me with inaudible words, I take the opportunity to grab the hair at the back of her head and pull it tightly. Now it's her turn to cry. She screams in pain as I slam her head onto the dinner table,

"PEETA!" she cries "IT'S ME KATNISS! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"

"Of course you want to hurt me! That's all you ever do, is hurt people!" I spit "You killed everyone: Rue, Finnick, Prim, the list goes on," I scream at her and grip her hair harder. As I stand up out of my chair and drag her by the head along with me, my vision blurs again and I look down at Katniss. Her eyes are they're natural grey colour again, but something's different, they're laced with fear. I drop her and take a few steps back. She is lying on the floor, crying uncontrollably, but then all of a sudden her eyes turn back into their endless black pits, and she gets up and laughs.

"You honestly fell for that Peeta? Come on," she laughs, so I lunge at her and pin her down with my body. She writhes underneath me, but I hold her arms down.

"You are a fucking manipulative bitch! You know that? A. Fucking. Bitch!" I spit in her face, but this time she isn't angry at me, she's crying.

"Peeta, I know you're in there. Please come back to me," she begs in a whisper,

"You're just trying to trick me again. I'm not that fucking stupid Katniss!" I yell, and grab a glass from the table. I raise it to smash it down on her, but something stops me and pulls me off of her. I immediately fight back but they're too strong. I look over my left shoulder and see Haymitch pulling me, then over to my right where I see Thom pulling me. "Let me go! She's going to hurt you guys don't you see? She's a fucking manipulative bitch!" I yell at them.

Haymitch's grip loosens a bit and I try to get out from them put then Thom grabs both of my arms and holds me down. I watch as Haymitch makes his way over to Katniss and helps her sit up. Her hair is crazy and her eyes are wide and alert, blood is pouring out of a cut that sits just above her eyebrow. She winces and she starts to stand up. The blurriness from before has died down, and everything looks… normal? My gaze lands on Thom who is standing above me with a concerned and angry (more like furious) look on his face, he's still holding me down. I look over at Haymitch who is holding a crying Katniss in his arms, "Why did they do this to him? Why Haymitch? They took him away from us," she cries into his shoulder, he just sooths back,

"It's alright sweetheart, it's alright he's gonna get better." I hang my head in shame, and soon I start to cry.

As soon as they think I've calmed down enough they let me go. Haymitch stays with me as Thom takes Katniss back to her place. I look at what was the perfect dinner; the tablecloth was ripped off of the table along with all the food and setting. And again I find myself crying, Haymitch just helps me up off the floor and offers me a hug.

"It's alright Peeta, I'm sorry that this happened to you," he says,

"I just…. I can't do this anymore, I'm afraid I'll hurt her," I say with tears streaming down my face,

"Hey, if she thought you were gonna hurt her, she'd have let you go a while back. She believes in you Peeta, and as much as she denies it I can see that she loves you and is willing to do what ever it takes to get you back," he tells me in a fatherly like tone. I just nod and head towards the stairs,

"I'm going to bed, make sure to lock the front door after you leave. I don't want to repeat what just happened," I tell Haymitch, he nods and heads towards the front door,

"Night Peet, see ya tomorrow," Haymitch says as he leaves and locks the door behind him.

I trudge up stairs and slump down on my bed, I run my hands over my face and through me hair a couple times. _Fucking hell, what is wrong with me?_ I think to myself.

I slip out of my clothes and in between the cool, silky sheets of my bed. I lay there for a while, not thinking, not moving. I just breathe, because sometimes you're only a few breaths away from feeling better, feeling safe. But this time it's not the case. I don't even notice when I slip into the oblivion of nightmares.

**Katniss' P.O.V – **

I make my way over to Peeta's house; I didn't really dress up tonight so hopefully neither did he. It's around 6 when I get there, and I'm greeted with big beautiful blue eyes and scruffy blonde curls. Peeta invites me inside and we just stare and smile at each other for a while. It's kinda become a thing between us now, just staring and smiling.

We make our way into the dining room and I gasp at the set up. He has brought our beautiful china plates, and expensive silverware, there are candles and flowers, and it looks amazing. Peeta smiles and pulls my seat out for me, I slide into the seat with a chuckle, "Such a gentleman,"

"Only for a lovely lady like you," he replies,

Through out dinner, we talk and laugh about Haymitch and his geese. Peeta is crying from laughing so much, and I'm close behind, except I'm laughing at Peeta not Haymitch. It's during dessert when I remember to tell Peeta my idea,

"So I came up with a plan," I tell Peeta,

"Oh really? What is it?" he asks intrigued,

"Well you know my mothers plant book?" I ask, he nods in response, "I was talking to Dr. Aurelius this afternoon before I got read to come over here, and he said it would be a great idea to help me with my…. Troubles, I guess you could call them? Anyways I was thinking we, and when I mean we I mean you, could draw pictures of our friends and family that we have lost or we get a photo of them and put it in a book, and then beside their picture we write a small paragraph to remind us who they were or are and how much we love them," I finish. Peeta just smiles and takes my hand, nodding his head,

"That's a beautiful idea Katniss." And from then on we continue our dessert.

It's towards the end of dessert when Peeta grips his spoon to tightly in his hand causing his knuckles to go white, his eyes go glassy and he stares directly at me. He blinks a couple of times as if to will it away. I get up out of my chair and turn his towards me and crouch down in front of him so we are at eye level. I put my hands on his shoulders and I talk to him soothingly,

"Peeta, honey, come back to me. You can fight it I know you can. Please just come back to me, don't go into that dark place," I say pleading with him. I'm on the brink of tears, he's unraveling in front of my eyes. My Peeta, is fading away. His eyes no longer their brilliant shade of blue, his skin pale, and his face in a stone cold expression. I speak soothing and loving words to him but he takes not notice. Suddenly he looks at me with tears cascading down his cheeks and it's like realization hits him, he grabs my hair at the back of my head, I yelp in pain as he pulls at it. And then I start to cry, he's gone. In one quick and swift movement Peeta slams my head into the side of the dinner table I scream in pain.

"PEETA!" I cry, "IT'S ME KATNISS! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!" I say pleading and crying desperately for him to just see me,

"Of course you want to hurt me! That's all you ever do, is hurt people!" he spits at me "You killed everyone: Rue, Finnick, Prim, the list goes on," he screams and grips my hair harder. I cry harder and he stands up out of his chair and drags me by the head along with him, he stops and looks down at me he takes a few steps back and shakes his head. I lie on the floor for a while crying uncontrollably before get up off of the ground and speak to him,

"You need to stop this Peeta, please," I beg, but he just lunges at me and pins me to the ground with his body. I writhe underneath him to get him off but he's too strong, and he holds my arms down.

"You are a fucking manipulative bitch! You know that? A. Fucking. Bitch!" he spits in my face, but I just keep on crying, not bothered to fight back.

"Peeta, I know you're in there. Please come back to me," I beg in a whisper,

"You're just trying to trick me again. I'm not that fucking stupid Katniss!" he yells, and then grabs a glass from the table. I gasp as he raises it to smash it down on me, but something stops him and pulls him off of me.

He immediately fights back at Thom and Haymitch and yells,

"Let me go! She's going to hurt you guys don't you see? She's a fucking manipulative bitch!".

Haymitch lets go of Peeta and makes his way over to me, I'm still on the floor shaking and crying violently. He helps me sit up and gets me some water. He then helps me stand up and I feel blood trickling down my face, so I wipe it away with my forearm. Haymitch envelops me in a hug and I break down in his embrace,

"Why did they do this to him? Why Haymitch? They took him away from us," I cry into his shoulder, he just sooths back,

"It's alright sweetheart, it's alright he's gonna get better." I dig my head deeper into his neck, just like I did with my dad when I was scared or sad when I was little. Haymitch is like my father now, and I love him.

As soon as Thom and Haymitch thinks Peeta has calmed down enough they let him go. Haymitch stays with Peeta as Thom takes me back to my place. He walks me to my door and gives me a tight squeeze,

"Do you want me to stay over? I could crash on the couch, if you want," he suggests. I shake my head 'no' in response,

"You've done enough tonight Thom. Thank you for helping me," I say and kiss him on the cheek,

"It's alright, he's alright, you'll be alright," he sooths enveloping me into another hug. Once me let go I open the front door and step inside,

"Good night Thom," I say,

"Night Katniss. Sweet Dreams," he replies as he makes his way down the porch steps and towards his house. _Doubt it_, I think to my self as I make my way up stairs and to the shower.

Everything hurts, my head especially. I scrub my self raw in the shower and then dress into my comfiest pajama's once I get out. Not bothering to dry my hair I climb into bed and wait for sleep to come. But of course it takes forever to arrive, and when it does I'm greeted with nightmares.

**I (this is A btw) actually cried whilst writing this, I'm a bit emotional lately! I know this update was long over due but we are at the end of our school year and we are just swamped with work! Remember to leave a comment and a character submission, love ya's xxxx ~ A**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY! (But I wish I did)**

**HEYYYYY GUYS MY OLDER SISTER IS LETTING ME USE HER LAPTOP TO UPDATE, HOW NICE! Anyways here's chapter 8 sorry for the delay and the author's note I left, and remember to do a Character submission, I've only gotten a few! Love ya's xxx ~A **

**Oh and guess what? I saw Mockingjay again! My friend Katie hadn't seen it yet so I was like, why the fuck not? And it was AMAZING, even though I had already seen it (****ﾉ◕ヮ◕****)****ﾉ*****:****･ﾟ✧**

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss P.O.V:<strong>

_"Hey Katniss, it's your mother here. Just calling to tell you that I'm... fine and that I love you. I think about her and your father everyday. I love you so much and just because I'm not there with you, you shouldn't think otherwise. Anyways District Four is beautiful, and I ran into Annie Odair the other day, she's about six months along in her pregnancy and apparently she's expecting a baby boy. No doubt he'll be as charming as his father was, and Annie... she's just glowing. I've been working at the hospital a lot, been promoted to head nurse and things are going great. I'd love to hear back from you, and tell me how Peeta is. Oh! I've been talking to Hazelle, she told me she was in Two with Gale and the kids! I thought they'd go straight back to Twelve... Well I better be going, I love you and I'll call again later. Bye Katniss." _My mothers voice mail rings out through my silent house, it's the only one I've got except the ones from Doctor Aurelius.

It's early. The sun hasn't risen yet. And it's warm. I rise from my place on the couch and go to put my hunting gear on. Once I'm dressed I braid back my hair and grab an apple on the way out.

The woods are quiet, dark and peaceful, as always. You wouldn't have even noticed that not even a year ago almost a thousand people took this forest as shelter from the bombing that took place back in Twelve. Everything is so... serene. The sun is just coming over the horizon, and the woods are coming alive with dancing rays of gold and amber. The light is being broken into small streams as it passes through the leaves that form the canopy that hangs high above my head, wild flowers bask in the light of the new day, I make my way up to Gale and I's secret hide-out. I'll never get sick of the breathtaking view that comes with our little piece of paradise. I sit in a small nook in the rocks, that gives me the best vantage point to see the whole of District Twelve. I can see where the Justice Building once stood, down to where the Seam once was. I take it all in. Everything. My surroundings, the view, the silence, everything. I sit here for a while distracted by my own thoughts.

The sun has risen quite high in the sky: time for hunting. I silently harvest the berries off of the bushes that surround this small rocky out crop, I check the strawberries that are still covered with a thin net. I head to the stream and set up some traps in the rushing water, I also dig up some katniss roots; in about two hours I have gone on my snare trail and reset each one precisely, I collect more plants and berries on my way back to the stream. I replenish my water and notice how sweaty I am, I remove my quiver of arrows, my bow and my hunting bag from my shoulders and slide out of my fathers hunting jacket. I roll up my jeans, but it doesn't make a difference to the heat; I drop everything and take out my serrated knife, I roughly cut the denim about three quarters up my thigh, not to short. After fashioning the strips of denim into snares, I slip back into my jacket, and sling my bow, arrows and hunting bag back onto my shoulders. "Lets do this," I whisper to myself as I soundlessly travel through the forest. A breeze has picked up and I can feel it steadily brush past my exposed legs, _Cutting those jeans was worth it, _I praise myself.

By 11:00am, I have collected all the game that was caught in my snares. All up I have: 2 rabbits, 4 fish, 7 turkeys, I also shot 5 squirrels and 3 birds. I got a good haul today, along with the plants and berries I collected, I can feed everyone working to fix up 12. I haul the heavy bag over my shoulder and trek back to 12, I pass the remnants of what was the wire fence that kept us captive in 12 and make my way into town.

I find Thom working on a fire pit in the main square, where everyone is busy working. I smile sweetly at him as I set the heavy my heavy game bag down and slump in a chair. "Hello Thom," I say in a cheery voice, having to shade my eyes to look up at him, Thom gives me a wide grin making his grey eyes squint.

"Hey Katniss," Thom greets, he pokes the fire pit with a large stick and looks down at my game bag. "I figured yo had gone hunting so I decided to make a grill."

I laugh and shake my head, "Alway's thinking a head aren't you? Anyways it's really hot out, couldn't you wait till night fall?" I question fanning my self with my hand, I can feel sweat forming on my hair line.

"Well I thought since everyone is so working hard and the meat is fresh, we could throw together lunch," Thom says while he throws more coal onto the fire, I nod and start to gut the game, I teach Thom how to gut the fish and the squirrels and soon we have a bundle of skinned animals and plants, Thom places a grill over the fire pit, so the hot coals are sitting just below the barbecue. He places the meat carefully on the grill and we let them roast for a minute. I look around and see the whole gang is here: Leevy, Delly, Sarah, Peeta, Haymitch, and a few other people that came back to twelve - both merchants and people from the seam. Most are working, but others - such as Haymitch - are sitting in the shade drinking what I think is water, I wander over to him and take a seat next to him.

"Afternoon sweetheart," Haymitch says, his breath surprisingly doesn't reek of alcohol, but his skin is a light shade of yellow, "How's things?"

"Hello Haymitch," I greet, "did your supply run dry?" I ask, he nods and takes a sip of the water. We sit there making idle chit chat until Sarah and Leevy greet us and take seats next to Haymitch and I. Haymtich excuses himself and makes his way over to Thom and the cooking meat and plants, an aroma has filled the air and everyone is taking a seat getting ready for the feast.

"So Katniss, you caught and gathered everything Thom is cooking?" Sarah asks curiously, she looks at me like I would be joking if I said yes, I nod my head and to my satisfaction her jaw drops open, "Really? That's awesome... I mean like I saw you hunt in the games, but I didn't know you're this resourceful."

"Thanks," I reply with a smile, "I've been doing it since I was eleven, so you could say it's kind of my 'thing',"

"Well you're very good at it," Sarah beams, and Leevy nods in agreement. Once the food is ready Leevy, Sarah and I go and help our selves at the feast and then take a spot in the shade.

"Holy cow, is it hot today or what?!" Leevy complains as she fans her self with her hand,

"I agree, the hottest day we've had all summer," Sarah chimes. "But with the heat comes a great view," Sarah nods her head over to where two men are standing and drinking water... shirtless. The glare from the sun makes it hard for me to make out their faces but... damn, they look good.

"You're so right," I add, and both girls burst out laughing. "What?" I ask confused,

"We just never pegged you as the kind of girl to really take notice of that kind of stuff," Leevy says through fits of laughter,

"What do you mean?" I question, slightly agitated,

"Well," Sarah begins, still chuckling lightly, "in school you never showed interest in any boys, and it was obvious that like every single guy was in love with the _'mysterious Katniss Everdeen'_. And you never took notice of them or anyone at least, until Peeta that is." I soak it all in. _So Peeta wasn't lying when he said a lot of guys liked me?_ I'm startled when Thom comes over and claps me on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the food Katniss," Thom says with a smile plastered on his face,

"No problem, it's the least I could do. I mean, I haven't been around to help much lately so I thought... why not?" I answer,

"Thanks anyways. So ladies, how's it hanging?" Thom asks taking a pull from his water bottle,

"Just admiring the view," Sarah answers with a sigh, looking towards the _still_ shirtless men.

Thom laughs and shakes his head, "I don't think Ridge and Peeta would appreciate being perverted on." My head whips around at the mention of his name. _One of them is Peeta?_ I look over at the two men and squint my eyes to get a better view. He's right: there stands Peeta and his perfectly chiseled body. The more I look at him the more I see that it _is_ him. I can see the small patches of baby pink that scatter across his well-toned back and the few scars that he wears from his time in the Capitol.

I'm broken out of my little trance when I hear a small thud: "Hey!" Leevy complains, "We are not perverts, we are just observing." Thom laughs again,

"Okay what ever you say. I'll see you guys later, kay?" Thom jests,

"Okay. Bye Thom," Leevy calls as he walks away. "I don't freaking care what he says, if I like what I see, I'm gonna keep looking." We all erupt into another round of laughter.

Once we're finished our food, we laze around in the shade for a while. I'm lying under a tree with my arm draped over my eyes to block out the sun, Leevy is sitting to my right and is making a daisy chain from the small flowers that surround us, and Sarah who is sitting to my left and is leaning up against the tree with he knees to her chest, talking about how she's going to re-open her families Tailor shop when Twelve's up and running again.

"I feel like it's gotten hotter," Sarah says after a few minutes of silence,

"Yeah same," Leevy agrees, "Too bad Peeta and Ridge are gone." We all laugh, but we're cut short:

"Who's gone?" a familiar voice says. I turn my head to be met with the most beautiful crystal-blue eyes and a flawlessly toned chest,

"Oh, no one," Sarah quickly replies,

"Okay..." Peeta says unconvinced, "What you three lovely ladies up to?" At this point I'm now seated in an upright position, my braid is probably dishevelled from lying on the ground. But I don't care. Peeta takes a seat right in front of me, to form some kind of circle. I shift my gaze down wards to a flower that sits next to my right foot, I pick it and follow Leevy's lead to make a daisy chain.

"Nothing much, we're just tired. The sun is draining all our energy," Leevy responds for us,

"Yeah, it's like a freaking oven out here today," Sarah quips,

"I know what you mean," Peeta laughs. Peeta shifts so he's lying down but his elbows are supporting him so he can still look at us, as he does this the muscles in his chest and arms ripple. I can't take my eyes off of him. I realise Peeta is watching me stare at his muscles - _shit he's caught me_ - I quickly avert my gaze and my cheeks burn. He chuckles to him self, making his muscles ripple even more - _damn him_.

Leevy, Sarah and Peeta make idle chit-chat and occasionally complain about the heat. I just remain silent, sometimes nodding or shaking my head to a question, at this point my daisy chain has become a good length. I keep checking if it will fit as a good necklace, every so often I find Peeta's blue eyes watching my hands work, he watches as my fingers weave the strands of the flowers together making a strong chain. "Well I'm going to get some water," Leevy exclaims, she wipes down her shorts and asks, "Does any one want anything?"

"I'll come as well," Sarah stands and joins Leevy, "Waters?" Peeta and I nod and the two girls walk away. I sit there working on my daisy chain, soaking in the sun that manages to break through the leaves of the tree, Peeta closes his eyes and soon his breaths become rhythmic, I wouldn't mind a nap right now. I join the ends of the daisy chain to create a flower crown and I carefully place it on my head.

"Queen Katniss." I'm startled by Peeta's voice, his blue eyes stare at me through the shade and his face breaks into a smile, "You look dashing." I feel my cheeks heat up and I look back to the ground, I'veto started notice that Peeta is slowly going back to his witty self, he's making jokes and his words are flowing easier. "Katniss... I just want to say that I'm sorry for what happened at dinner the other night."

I look up to meet his sorry eyes, his smile has now faded into a small frown. I shake my head, "You don't have to apologise, Peeta. You can't control what that snake did to you. You don't _have_ to worry, you shouldn't _have_ to worry." Peeta just shakes his head,

"No Katniss, I feel responsible for this, I _am_ responsible of this. You begged me to stop, but I just kept hurting you," he has tears in his eyes now. If he's going to cry then I'm going to cry.

"Peeta..." I soothe. I scoot over to him so I'm sitting directly in front of him, I grab his face in my hands and look him straight in the eye, "That wasn't you, and don't you believe just for one millisecond that I believe that it was. Do you know why?" Peeta shakes his head, "Because this is the real you, the loving you. The boy - _no_ man - that has saved me so many times that I have lost count. You can't see the good in you, you only see the bad. But me, I see all of you. I've seen you when you were sick, dying, and defeated. I've seen you as deadly, vicious, and scary. But I've also seen you when you were loving, kind and gentle, and that's the Peeta I believe you are. You're my Peeta, who understands me better than most people, even myself sometimes, and that's the Peeta you should believe you are. Because that's how I see you." Peeta's letting his tears fall freely down his cheeks now. He lifts up his hands to wipe away tears that I didn't realise were running down my cheeks.

"You're so beautiful." He barely whispers. Peeta's blue eyes are staring intently into my grey eyes, and the corners of his mouth have turned up to form a small smile on his face. I tilt my head so that our foreheads are touching and we're breathing the same air. I close my eyes and I feel Peeta's hands drop to my waist to pull me closer to wards him, not that I mind. My hands are still resting on either side of his face, so I gently lower them to his shoulders and slowly lets my fingers find the soft blonde curls at the base of his head, and intertwine themselves in them.

We're broken out of our daze, when we here someone 'cough' loudly. We quickly part and move away from each other. Haymitch stands in front of us with a smug look on his face. "Sorry to burst your little love bubble. But everyone is heading home now,"

"Why so early?" Peeta questions, "We were making good progress,"

"It's too _hot_, and by the looks of things you guys were making good progress," Haymitch implies, I look to Peeta confused. His cheeks are now a light shade of pink. _What does he mean? You guys were making good progress_... Oh!

"Haymitch!" I scold,

"Don't mind me Sweetheart, but tone down the PDA," He jokes, before he walks away,

I turn to Peeta again, "What's PDA?"

"Public Display of Affection," He replies still slightly pink,

"Oh," I reply. Now my cheeks are stained pink. Peeta slips back into his t-shirt - _damn it_- he stands up, and offers me a hand. I take it gingerly and we make our way to catch up with everyone.

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta's POV:<strong>

Katniss and I catch up to everyone on their way to the Victors Village. I walk over to Thom and Ridge, and Katniss goes over to Sarah and Leevy. "Saw you and Katniss getting all cozy under the tree," Ridge jests while nudging my arm.

"I was just apologising for what happened the other night," I reply, a little too quickly I might add,

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Thom chimes, "Did you see how she was looking at you? Dude, she's just in love with you, as you are with her,"

"No she's not," I shake my head, "She may love me, but only as a friend,"

"Okay, if you're just gonna put yourself down about this all the time, then I'm gonna stop sympathising," Thom says. We talk about the town on the way back to the Victors Village, and what we're gonna do. Ridge wants to open up his families old black smith, they were from the Seam but provided some of the tools for the mines. Thom doesn't know what he wants to do, he says he'll go where ever the wind takes him. I tell them about re-opening up the bakery. Every once and a while I look over to Katniss, she looks... amazing today. Her tight white tank top and her denim shorts make it hard to keep my eyes off of her, and she still has the flower crown on that she made before.

When we're at the gate of the Victors Village, Leevy - who is walking with Katniss - exclaims: "Why is it so freaking hot?!"

"Watch this," Ridge says to me an Thom before walking over to Leevy. "Here let me help you cool off," Ridge says before dumping his bottle of water all over Leevy's head. Her mouth form's a wide 'O' shape and her face morphs into shock.

"You fucking bastard," Leevy says while she drenches Ridge with the contents of her water bottle. They keep on battling, until Ridge gets water all over Sarah.

"That's it," Sarah says as she helps Leevy to take down Ridge,

"A little help here guys?" Ridge says over his shoulder to Thom and I. So we both spring into action, soaking Sarah and Leevy to the bone.

"Katniss! C'mon!" Sarah yells,

"I'm fine," Katniss replies standing off to the side,

"Don't make me wet you," Sarah threatens. But I'm already over there pouring water all over Katniss' head. Her faced is shocked but then falls into a glare, if looks could kill. Instead of fighting back Katniss runs to the nearest Victors house, and disappears around the side. _Shit you've done it this time_, a voice inside my head tells me. But with in seconds she back holding a hose that is shooting water. Katniss drenches me so I run after her and snatch the hose out of her hands.

"Hey!" she complains laughing, I point the hose on her and wet her even more. I look down at Katniss' body: the denim shorts she wears show off her well-toned and perfectly tanned legs, and her white tank top is clinging to her soaked body, making her lilac-purple bra visible through the white of the top. Shit. I think my new favourite colour is lilac. My eyes linger on Katniss' body. "Peeta," she says snapping me out of my daze. "My eyes are up here," she laughs while pointing to her eyes. My cheeks instantly heat up, but then a thought hits me,

"Oh sorry Katniss, but that was just pay back for before. Ya know, when you were checking me out, when we were under the tree," I ramble. Katniss' cheeks heat up and her gaze shifts to the ground. All at once Katniss grabs the hose out of my grasp and points it up at my face, and then down at my shirt. She bursts out laughing, and quickly covers her mouth with her hand. Katniss' eyes wander from my face down to my saturated shirt, I look down at it too, "This just won't do, will it?" I ask looking back at her with a smirk. She shakes her head,

"No it won't," Katniss barely whispers. In one quick move, I take my shirt off and throw it to the ground, Katniss' eyes widen as she looks down at my bare chest.

"Like what you see?" I tease,

"Maybe," She answers with a smirk, and once again points the hose up at my face.

"That's it," I yell, and chuck Katniss over my shoulder. I start to run towards everyone still in the water fight.

"Peeta! Put me down!" Katniss laughs while she pounds my back,

"Never!" I yell back. I take Katniss right into the middle of the water fight and get everyone to helps me drench her. A few other people followed Katniss' example and got the hoses from the other Victor's Village houses and is spraying her, and other people are pouring water bottles all over her head. I'm holding Katniss down as she tries to get away, but in the end she gives up and slumps against me. Once it's all died down and most people have gone home, Leevy has the great idea of going down to the river for a swim. Note the sarcasm.

"C'mon Peeta, it'll be fun," Leevy pushes,

"Nah, nah. I'm just gonna go home," I say rubbing the back of my neck,

"Please?" Leevy urges, "for me?" she says with the biggest puppy dog eyes. I roll my eyes,

"Fine, whatever,"

"YAY! Okay all us girls are gonna go get our swimmers on," Leevy says,

"Wait how do you have swimmers?" I ask, "We live in District Twelve, we're hours away from the beach,"

"I have some," I turn to see Katniss wringing out her hair, "From the Victory tour, when we went to Four. Cinna made me like a million pairs of swimmers,"

"Oh," is all I say before Sarah, Leevy and a few other girls follow Katniss into her house. I make my way over to my own and chuck on a new shirt and some new pants.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss' P.O.V:<strong>

Did Cinna seriously have to give me all two-piece's. Nearly every single pair of swimsuits are two-pieces. Being the ever so kind person that I am, I let the girls have the first pick of the bunch, and in a result both one pieces were taken. I stare down into the trunk of swimmers that hide in my wardrobe in my room,

"C'mon Katniss, hurry up. The boys will be ready by now," Leevy whines,

"Sorry, just can't find anything to wear," I reply,

"Here I'll help," Sarah says while getting up from her place on my bed. Sarah was one of the two girls that took a one-piece, she's really modest and shy about her body but I have no idea why, she's stunning. And I have to admit, the one-piece looks better on her than it ever did on me. "What about this pair?" She says while holding up a white two-piece.

"Nah, the mud in the river will ruin it, and also it's a bit to revealing," I say while shaking my head, so Sarah keeping digging through the trunk. Eventually Leevy gets up to help too.

"What about these?" Leevy says while holding up a pink bathing-suit, I think the look on my face says it all because Leevy just laughs and chucks it back into the trunk.

"How about this pair," Mia, a girl from Thirteen says while holding up a red bikini, "The bottoms are high-waisted so you won't be revealing too much."

"They're gorgeous," Sarah states,

"Totally gorgeous," Leia, a girl that came from District 5 to help clean up says over excitedly,

"Okay, I'll try em' on then." I walk into the bathroom and slip into the suit. When I look into the mirror I'm surprised, the suit looks great, I look great. The red compliments my skin tone, and accentuate's what curves I have. I step out of the bathroom and all the girls look to me, "How do I look?"

"YOU LOOK AMAZING!" They all yell, I blush and smile,

"Peeta won't be able to take his eyes off of you!" Sarah yells,

"Okay hurry up chuck on a dress or something, we need to go," Leevy says while pushing everyone out of the bedroom. I chuck on a white summer dress and hurry down stairs.

On our way to the river, the girls tease me about Peeta. "You're gonna have the cutest babies with him," Sarah giggles,

"With the blonde curls and grey eyes," Mia chimes,

"Don't forget the incredible archery skills," Leia adds,

"Or the baking skills," Leevy agrees,

"Guys just stop, please," I beg. But the girls just keep on going on and on and on and on and on and on about it. Once we reach the river all the boys are already there, some are swimming and some are sitting on the bank chatting.

"Hey ladies," Ridge greets, A chorus of 'Hi's' and 'Hey's' go around and everyone goes off to do their own thing. I stand awkwardly on the bank, _should I go sit with Peeta? Or go to Leevy and Sarah?_ Stuff this. I pull my summer dress over my head and place it on the ground along with my shoes, my hat and my towel. I walk towards the water and I feel everyone's eyes on me, I turn my head around and everyone looks away. I smile to myself and continue to walk towards the water. I take out my braid before diving in, I look over my shoulder once more and I see Peeta staring at me, I give him the most flirtatious smile I can manage and then dive into the water. It fells amazing against my skin, it's cool and refreshing. Once I come up I see that Peeta's eyes are still trained on me,

"Why don't you come for a swim?" I call to him,

"Oh, nah, I'm alright," Peeta replies with a wave of his hand,

"C'mon, please?" I urge, Peeta looks flustered and he looks around and then back at me.

"Katniss, I can't swim remember," He whisper yells,

"Oh yeah," I whisper. Memories of the Quarter Quell come rushing back to me: Peeta standing on the pedestal, not knowing what to do, because he can't swim. "Okay then, why don't I teach you," I smile, he has to say yes now,

"Okay," Peeta says kind of to eagerly. He rises form his place on the bank and strips out of his shirt, then his shoes, and then his pants. _Shit he's taking his pants off_, I can't hide the blush that comes crawling onto my cheeks, _and he's a brief's man, fuck_. **(A/N: Just to clarify, there are boxers, briefs and what we in Australia call speedos. I find boxers kinda gross so I'm making Peeta a brief's guy. And yes it is underwear, and how do I know that you might ask, I have three older brothers.) **He makes his way down to the water but then stops in his tracks, he turns around and calls out to Thom,

"Thom can you mind my watch? It was my Dad's," He calls out to him. Peeta's whole back is facing me and I have the perfect view of his amazing back and his incredible bum. Holy shit does he have a nice bum, _shut up Katniss_, I mentally scold myself.

"Sure thing man," Thom replies and Peeta throw's him his watch, which Thom easily catches,

"Thanks," Peeta calls and turns back around to me, "Ready, Miss Katniss?"

"Yes I am Mister Peeta, how about you," I reply with a smile,

"As I'll ever be," Peeta says as he slowly walks into the water. "This feels so nice," he whispers, probably to him self. Once he's up to his hips, I swim over to him and stand in front of him, the water comes up to my waist at this point.

"Okay, lay on your back," I instruct,

"Yes ma'am," he says while doing what I told him to do,

"Good, now keep relaxed and calm," I soothe,

"Kinda hard when it feels like you're try to drown me," he laughs,

"Ha. Ha. Very funny Mister Mellark, I'm serious just relax. Go to your happy place," I reply,

"I'm already in my happy place, because where ever you are is my happy place," Peeta says to me. I'm blushing furiously and doing nothing to hide it. So I decide to play it off:

"You're such a sap, Peeta," I laugh while splashing him a little,

"Well sorry Katniss, but it's the truth. As along as I know you are safe and happy, I'm happy," He tells me as he scrambles to stand up in front of me. "So tell me Katniss, are you happy?"

"Very happy, Peeta," I reply and give him and hug. Peeta wraps his arms around my shoulders, while mine are secured around his waist.

"Katniss?" Peeta whispers into my hair,

"Mmhmmm," I breathe,

"I can't do this," I pull back and see the fear in his eyes,

"Peeta, what wrong?" I ask,

"Well, I was just telling you that as long as you are happy and safe, then I'll be happy..." he trails off,

"And?" I push,

"And," Peeta sighs, "You can't be safe around me, I'm a danger to you, I could have killed you the other night. I just... I don't want you to get hurt, like really hurt," He rambles.

"Peeta look at me," and he does, "I don't freaking care what you think, I'm gonna be around you whether you like it or not. I need you so much that it's kinda scary. And hey if I get hurt I get hurt, just you remember I've starved most my life, I've been in two Hunger Games, and a Rebellion, lets just say I'm tougher than I look." Peeta smiles at me, not a small smile but a shit-eating-grin type of smile. I pull him into another hug, and he rests his chin against the top of my head.

"I need you too, Katniss," He says,

"Peeta, I lost you once, I'm not gonna let you slip through my fingers again."

* * *

><p><strong>How'd you like it? Leave a comment and have a nice Christmas. I don't know when the next update will be, but let's hope it is soon. <strong>

_**Tell me if you think I'm rushing Katniss and Peeta, okay?**_

**And if you like Divergent and you're a fan, check out my twins story: A Dauntless Life with Caleb, on her account at FightforFiction **

**Also I need to thank my twin for helping me write a lot of this chapter and previous chapters. Give her a round of applause.**

**Okay, bye my lovelies xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hola mi amigos! Here's Chapter 9, I hope you like it. I just want to say thank to all my readers, especially those who give me feedback, it really helps me and encourages me to keep writing this story, and it also tells me that people are actually reading it! So I love you all and have a very Merry Christmas! Love ya's xxx ~ A**

* * *

><p><strong>Peeta's P.O.V:<strong>

"I should have just _done_ it," I complain, "I had _four_ opportunities to kiss her and I didn't."

"We know you've told us a thousand times, wait four? I though you only had three," Thom retorts,

"No I have had four. There was when we were under the tree, during the water fight, when we were in the river, and yesterday afternoon, before Haytmitch interrupted us. I feel like an asshole," I continue, Thom's mouth forms an 'O' shape and he nods his head.

"I would have kissed her when you guys were in the river, she looked so hot. I mean that bikini on her… Whoo, I would have done more than just kissed her," Ridge sighs,

"Shut up Ridge," Thom says as he hits him over the head, "You don't talk like that about another man's woman, it's disrespectful,"

"Sorry, I was raised to only tell the truth," Ridge says with his hands up in defence. "And anyways that was like a week and a half ago. You've probably had plenty of opportunities to kiss her since then, besides yesterday I mean,"

"It's not the same," I exhale. It's true I have had a few more opportunities to kiss Katniss since the other week, but those times weren't as perfect as the last ones, except for yesterday of course. I can't tell if Katniss wants me to kiss her or not, but she did tell me that she's not gonna let me slip through her fingers again. I get up from my lying down position to a sitting position on Thoms couch and groan. "What am I going to do?"

"I dunno man, but like I said the other day Katniss is waiting for you, I know it," Thom smiles as he claps me on the back. I hope he's right coz' I'll look like an idiot of I kiss her and she doesn't kiss me back. Thom snaps his fingers to get my attention, "Okay," he starts, "Next time you see Katniss, just go up to her and kiss her. No talking. Nothing. Just grab her and kiss the crap out of her."

"I second that," Ridge chimes, "That's a great idea, catch her off guard,"

"You guys think so? But what if she pulls back or she doesn't kiss back, or what if she just wants to be friends. That'd be so embarrassing," I worry, and dig my face into my hands. I couldn't handle being just friends with Katniss.

"Peeta you worry way too much about the '_what if's'_, and I don't think Katniss wants to be 'just friends'," Thom smiles,

"Yeah she's freaking head over heels for you man," Ridge laughs,

"Really?" I question, still unsure. If Katniss is head over heels for me she has a weird way of showing it. Ever since the other week she's been acting weird when ever I'm around her, like she's angry or flustered.

"Definitely Peeta. You need to step out of the box for once, be – I dunno…._spontaneous_ or something," Thom encourages.

"Spontaneous?" I laugh, "Really Thom?"

"Hey shut up Mellark, we're tryna' help you," Thom replies while feigning hurt. Thom goes on about how I need to be a man and just kiss Katniss, but I tell him I'm not that kinda guy. Ridge adds in a joke or an innuendo from time to time to lighten the mood a bit. Even with all these encouraging words from the guys, I don't think I'll be able to kiss her, like just out of the blue. A small part of my brain just keeps nagging me about it_: She'll never kiss you back, you tried to kill her_, or _she has never loved you, no point in trying to make her_. I'm brought back from my self-pitying when something Ridge says catches my attention.

"What'd you say?" I ask,

"I said," Ridge re-starts agitated, "That you'd better get in with Katniss before any other guy goes for her. I mean all the guys wanted her in school, and probably every guy in Panem has their eyes on Katniss Everdeen, and if they find out you guys aren't together they'll be on the next train to twelve, trying to win her over," I nod my head as he explains. He's right, Katniss is amazing, every single guy in school wanted to have her so there is no doubt now that every guy in every other district would love to have her. "Not to mention Gale, he's probably going to come back for her." Ridge continues.

"You think so?" I ask, he fucking better not come back for Katniss. I'll fucking kill him if I have to. _Stop thinking like that Peeta_, the sensible part of my mind tells me_, Katniss hates Gale any way, after what he did to Prim_. That's right! Katniss still hasn't forgiven Gale for what he did, but they've been best friends for years, she'll forgive him... _Eventually._

"Yeah man, you gotta get in there. You have the upper hand to every other guy in this country, you know Katniss and all she has been through, and also she likes you back," Thom says,

"You're right, I do, I guess," I say. Do I have the upper hand? I mean, I do know and understand what she's been through: Two Hunger Games and a Rebellion. And apparently she has a _'thing'_ for me, not to mention how she doesn't have nightmares when we sleep in the same bed. So in some ways I do have the upper hand. I smile like a kid in the candy store and nod my head, _yeah I do have the upper hand_.

"That's my boy. Next time you see her, just go grab her face and kiss the shit out of her," Thom says as he claps me on the back, "And when you break the kiss, she'll be begging for more".

After a bit more 'man to man talk', Ridge starts to talk about weird situations that could happen between Katniss and I, like: _what if she sneezed during the kiss_, or _just as you were walking up to her, you tripped and head-butted her knocking her out cold_, or _what if she bites your tongue when you kiss and it starts to bleed_. He goes on and on and on for ages, making up weird scenarios in his head about what will happen when I kiss her. Thom joins in, resulting in the scenarios to be twice as bad as before. Haymitch comes over, and when Ridge and Thom fill him in on what we were talking about, Haymitch can't help but join in on the teasing.

"Aw fuck that'd be hilarious!" Haymitch exclaims through a fit of laughter after Thom comes up with a new one. "We need a fucking camera to tape them, just in case it does happen," all the guys are crying they're laughing so much, and the beers Haymitch brought over isn't helping them at all.

But even though the guys won't shut up about all the bad stuff, my mind wanders to what might happen. _I see myself walking home to the Victors Village from town and seeing Katniss walking back from the woods with her game bag slung over her shoulder and bow in hand. She's in her ripped denim shorts, a tight black tank top, and her hunting boots, her signature braid is slightly dishevelled from her morning in the woods. She looks...beautiful doesn't even cut it. Gorgeous? Stunning? Striking? None of those words can even begin to describe Katniss. I start to stride over to her and she smiles when she sees me, when I'm almost there she starts to speak: "Hey Peeta how are yo-" I cut her off with a kiss. One of my hands is cupping her cheek while the other one is holding Katniss' waist, pulling her closer. She's shocked at first but then quickly melts away into the kiss, and she drops the game bag and her bow and wraps her arms around my neck pulling us closer together. Katniss' lips are soft and plump, they're perfect. Her tongue rests on my bottom lip and I open my mouth to accommodate her, Katniss presses her self against me and- _ "Peeta!" Thom yells and I'm broken out of my day dream,

"What?" I hiss, annoyed.

"When are you gonna do it?" He asks agitated, like he's the one who should be agitated.

"Do what?" I counter back,

"Kiss Katniss," He says as if I'm the most stupid person in the world. "Are you gonna kiss her next time you see her or wait a while? What are you gonna do?" Thom pushes. What am I going to do? If I'm just going to kiss her out of the blue, I may as well just go over now and kiss her. And then it hits me. I look at the clock and then back at the boys,

"Do you think Katniss would be finished all her errands for the day?" I ask,

"Yeah, probably, why?" Haymitch answers, all the boys look and me confused.

"Because if I'm going to surprise her, why wait?" I reply with a smirk. Then it dawns on all the faces, they're smiling like idiots,

"That's my boy!" Thom yells,

"Go get her!" Ridge chimes,

Haymitch claps me on the back and shakes his head,"It's about time," he laughs. I look at the clock again, 1:32pm. Yeah she'll be at home. I clean my self up a bit and make my way over to Katniss' house. I walk up the steps and I'm about to knock on the door when I stop, _should I really be doing this?_ I ask myself, _or should I wait for the right moment. No Peeta, it's now or never_. I knock on the door with a bit too much self confidence if I do say so myself. I wait for a few seconds before I hear scurrying behind the closed door. Not a second later the door is opened to reveal Katniss in a soft-green summer dress. Her hair is in it's signature braid, but she looks a bit flustered.

"Peeta," Katniss starts, "Now's not really a good tim-" I cut her off kissing her, and she doesn't kiss back. _Shit she really does just want to be friends_. But then out of no where she starts to kiss me back, and she wraps her arms around my neck, intertwining her fingers with the curls at the back of my head. My hands are on her waist so I pull her closer, eliminating any space that was between us. I wrap my arms around her waist and she pulls me closer, if that is even possible. I deepen the kiss and Katniss allows it willingly. Something is bubbling up inside of me, it's the same thing I felt in the cave in our first games, and the same thing I felt on the beach in our second games. We're broken out of our kiss with a 'cough', Katniss and I both pull away but we're still entangled in each others arms. Standing in the kitchen is none other than Ms. Everdeen. That's right the train came today. Shit.

"Peeta," She greets, "So nice to see you." I look down at Katniss and her face is blushing red, my face is probably mirroring hers.

"It's nice to see you too, Ms. Everdeen. I haven't seen you since thirteen, how have you been?" I choke out, surprisingly steady.

"I have been great, district four is wonderful. I see you and Katniss have become good_ friends_," She replies,

"Mother!" Katniss hisses, she looks back up at me and then down at our _still_ entangled bodies and she blushes.

"Well I better be going, sorry to crash your party," I mumble, and break the embrace.

"Okay bye Peeta," Ms. Everdeen calls from the kitchen as I make my way out the door. Katniss follows me and just as I'm about to walk down the steps she grabs my arm and spins me around so I'm facing her,

"What was that for?" Katniss questions, but I can't tell if she's mad or not.

"I'm sorry," I reply guiltily, "I just had to kiss you, if I had waited another second I would have died, seriously." Katiss smiles and blushes, she looks down to the ground to hide it,

"Really?" She says looking up at me once more,

"Absolutely," I laugh. Katniss' cute and bashful face turns into a more serious and alluring type of emotion. She grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me closer to her.

"Good," She whispers into my ear. _Shit_. Katniss places kisses all along my jaw line until she comes to my lips, she stops and I look down at her pleadingly. She smirks up at me, and places one lingering kiss on my lips. Katniss is the one to break the kiss, "We will talk about this later," She says before sending a wink my way and heading back into her house.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss' P.O.V (The previous day):<strong>

"Don't worry Katniss the supplies should be there by tomorrow, along with both Peeta's and your medication. Will you do me a favour and remind him about it please?" Doctor Aurelius asks from the other side of the phone,

"Yeah I will," I reply,

"Good, I'll call next in one week, so next Saturday, okay?" He says,

"Okay, talk then, bye," I say trying to end the call as soon as possible,

"Wait! Katniss I almost forgot, there will be a little gift at the station for you," Doctor Aurelius exclaims excitedly,

"What is it?" I question, god it better not be Effie or my old Prep team I really couldn't handle them right now. What if it's something from Cinna? Or do I have to do a 'Check up with the Mockingjay'.

"That's a surprise darling. Remember next Saturday. Goodbye," He literally cheers.

"Bye," I drag out the word until he hangs up. God I can only handle so much of that man, his Capitol accent annoys the hell out of me **(A/N: Can't remember if Doctor Aurelius if from the Capitol or not, so I'm just saying that he is)**. I get up from my place at the desk in the study and make my way to the kitchen, I brew a cup of tea and go into the living room. I turn the T.V. on and sip on my tea. They've started all these new Capitol T.V. shows, like: _Panem's Got Talent_, _Late Night with Caesar Flickerman_, and _The Tonight Show with Claudius Templesmith,_ there are new 'soap opera's' as well. None of them are what I'd usually watch, like at all, but I've literally read every book inside this house and I've done all the hunting, cleaning and cooking that I needed to do today. So here I am bored out of my brains, not having anything to do. I could go to the river, but I don't feel like swimming. I could go for a hike, but I'm to tired from this mornings hunt. I could go into town, but Sarah and Leevy will just be pestering me about how I didn't take charge and just kiss Peeta. I could go and see Peeta, but he's probably with Thom and Ridge. What the fuck am I going to do? As if someone has answered my prayers, there's a knock on the door. I jump out of the arm chair and race to the door, I swing it open and there stands Peeta. Speak of the devil. He has his hands dug into his pockets and a smile plastered on his face.

"Well look who it is, Mister Peeta Mellark," I say with the best Capitol accent I can muster,

"In the flesh," Peeta replies with a perfect Capitol accent,

"You're getting good at it, the accent I mean," I compliment,

"Why thank you," Peeta responds still using the accent,

"Okay, you can stop now," I laugh and hit his shoulder. Peeta feigns hurt, a little too dramatically if you ask me.

"OW! that's gonna bruise," Peeta whines, but all unconvincingly, he's laughing too much. "Are you gonna invite me in or what, Miss Everdeen?" I open the door wide enough for him to enter. I watch him as he does, he still has a pretty bad limp in his leg, but all in all he's almost mastered the robo leg. I follow him to the kitchen and push my self up so I am sitting on the kitchen counter, Peeta's slumped down on chair in the corner. "So what do you want to do?" Peeta asks, "We could go for a walk, or something?"

"Nah, lets just stay in, I like it when we just talk," I look out the window at the cloudy sky, "And it looks like it's gonna rain soon anyways."

"Okay, well what you want to do?" Peeta questions, boredom obvious in his tone. I roll my eyes and jump off if the counter.

"I just told you, I want to talk," I reply annoyed, Peeta sits up a bit straighter sensing my agitation.

"Okay about what?" He says in a much happier tone,

"Everything," I smile and make a fresh pot of tea. "Everything and anything." Peeta smiles and makes his way over to me, standing a bit too close, not that I mind though.

"Talking it is then," He smiles while I pass him his drink. I take his hand and lead him to the living room. I sit at one end of the love seat and he sits at the other, so make it more comfortable I sit with my back resting on the arm of the chair and my legs draped over Peeta's. "I'm gonna re-open the bakery once the town is up and running again," Peeta smiles, "but this time there is going to be soups and meals and coffee, a real menu instead of just sweets and bread."

"That's an amazing idea! Are you going to keep the original name?" I ask, sipping my tea. The town is almost cleaned, some buildings are already in the process of being built, like the Hospital, the School, and the Town Hall. Every week you can see the population of district twelve increase just a little bit.

"Yeah I think so, I mean I want to keep their memory alive," He replies. I can see the hope in his eyes, he really wants it so I'm going to help him get it.

"I can bring you fresh meat and herbs for your new menu," I say and Peeta looks at me with a boyish grin devouring half his face.

"Really?" Peeta asks excitedly, I sit up properly and move closer towards him.

"Of course, you can have venison Pie and Squirrel Stew," I laugh and Peeta joins in. "I'm glad your here Peeta," I whisper after the laughter has all died down.

"Sucking up to the baker so I can give you a job," Peeta questions, my eyebrows shoot up and I blush.

"No," I hiss. He just laughs again and takes one of my hands in both of his,

"I'm kidding Katniss." Peeta whispers the next part, "To be completely honest, I'm glad I'm here too. Especially since I'm with you." I look up at him, but his eyes are trained on our conjoined hands. Now would be the perfect time to kiss him. _No_, I tell me self, _remember that he's the one who needs to kiss me first. _Peeta looks up at me, his blue orbs staring directly into my eyes. He clenches his jaw and I swear to god he's leaning in, so I do too. Just as we're about to kiss someone bursts through the front door. _Are you fucking kidding me?_ We can _not_ catch a break!

"Hello, my youngins'," Haymitch yells, "How are we this fine afternoon." Peeta and I pull away from each other, as Haymitch walks over to us in the living room and sits across from us in an arm chair. "Did I interrupt something," Haymitch asks while pointing between Peeta and I. Just as I'm about to respond 'yes', I'm cut off by Peeta.

"No, it was nothing," Peeta dismisses with a wave of his hand. _NOTHING?_ That was _nothing_ to him? I huff out in frustration and wipe the loose strands of hair out of my face. I stand up and take my empty tea cup, I offer to take Peeta's and then move into the kitchen. Peeta and Haymitch continue to converse while I'm in the kitchen cleaning up. How could he say it was _nothing_? Did he not feel what I just felt? I run my hands over my face and let out a long un-easy breath. _God Katniss don't cry over this_, I scold myself. I put on my best _'I'm not pissed face'_ and go back into the living room. Instead of sitting beside Peeta, I sit in the other arm chair which is closer to Haymitch. Peeta has definitely picked up on my mood and is doing everything to include me in the conversation, but I just answer with a nod of my head 'yes' or a shake 'no'. I can see in his pleading eyes that he's trying to reach out to me but I ignore it.

At around 4:30, Haymitch stands up and stretches out his back. "I better be headin' home, Greasy Sae said she'd concocted me some sort of stew for dinner."

"Okay bye Haymitch I'll see you soon," I respond and walk him to the door,

"Bye sweetheart," He says as he bends down and gives me a small squeeze. "I'll see you later." I wave until he's disappeared into his house and then turn to Peeta in the living room.

"I better be going too, I'm going to meet up with Thom and Ridge," Peeta says, kind of awkwardly.

"Okay," I reply hollowly, Peeta quirks his eye brows and his blue eyes cast downward.

"I'll see you tomorrow Katniss," Peeta says as he walks over to me and gives me a hug, it's more of a brotherly like hug than an intimate hug. I nod when we break apart and he starts to head down my front porch steps.

"Peeta!" I call, and I can see the hope in his eyes. "Remember trains coming tomorrow," I say and the hope quickly disappears.

"Oh," He says deflated, "Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem," I smile. I close the door before anything else can be said and let out a big sigh, what am I going to do? I walk into the Kitchen and pull out a meal I made this morning: Rabbit roasted in herbs with some small vegetables. I eat in the Living room watching a Capitol show that I'm not bothered to learn the name of.

I walk up to my room around 9-ish, have to get up early and do some hunting before the train arrives at eleven. I slip in to a silk bed-dress that falls half way down my thighs and slip in between the cool sheets of my bed. I try to prolong my thoughts, so sleep won't take me under, but I need to get some rest for tomorrow. Sleep soon over comes my tired body, and I'm welcomed with nightmares.

* * *

><p>The woods are calming as always this morning, the clouds that inhabited the sky yesterday have vanished and the striking blue is covering us once again. I sing to the Mockingjays as I move through the forest, collecting all the necessities for this week. It's not a very good haul today, only a few animals but plenty of herbs and plants. I even collect a fresh posy of wild flowers for the kitchen and dining room table. I check all the snares: a few rabbits and some turkeys. Not bad. I go through everything in my head, I've been to the river and gotten some roots, I've stripped some bushes of their fruits, I've checked all the snares I set up and I've shot some meat for the next week. Awesome all done for today, and judging by the light, it's probably around 9:30-10 o'clock. The train should arrive in about an hours time<p>

I make my way home, and prepare all the meat and plants. I place the wild flowers in some vases and put them in the kitchen and dining room. I go upstairs and get cleaned up, if this surprise is a freaking camera crew I want to at least look somewhat presentable. The clock reads 10:30, so I do a quick clean before I go for any un-wanted guests and then start to travel to the train station. It takes me no more than ten minutes to get there, and it is bustling with people waiting for the train to arrive. I check to see if Peeta's here, but I can't see him anywhere. I wish I didn't act the way I did last night, I acted like a child. The train arrives just on schedule and once the doors open it is complete and utter chaos. There are people everywhere, yelling, running, moving objects. There are squeals of delight and cries of joy. I go over to a man with a crate full of medical supplies.

"Hi I'm here to pick up some medication," I say to the sophisticated looking man,

"Okay, name?" He asks uninterested, not even looking up at me from his clip board. Okay then.

"Katniss Everdeen," I reply, trying to be polite as possible to this asshole. He jumps, startled by my name and immediately he's all smiles. He is still an asshole.

"Ah yes, here's you are Miss Everdeen," I says as he hands me a box, he's still wearing that fake smile. I use his guilt to my advantage, and since Peeta's not around I decide to get his medication for him.

"And I was wondering if I could collect a package for Peeta? Peeta Mellark that is?" I ask as sweetly as I can,

"Oh of course!" He laughs and hands me Peeta's box, well boxes. "Do you need help carrying those Miss Everdeen?" Worry laced through his voice,

"No that's okay," I reply, "See you soon." I collect the box with all the supplies to make the memory book and thank the woman. I start to make my way out of the train station weaving through the crowd of people, when a familiar voice stops me.

"So you're just gonna leave with out us?" I turn to see my mother standing with two girls,

"Mum!" I yell and give her a hug, "So you're my surprise?!"

"Yes, I am dear," She laughs and then steps aside to introduce her friends. "This is Nicole and Alexis. Nicole is my assistant from the hospital in four and Alexis is her little sister." I shake both their hands and smile at them.

"It's such an honour to meet you Katniss," Nicole says, "Our parents fought in the rebellion, but sadly they lost their lives. But it was for a good cause." I see the sadness in her eyes and offer her a hug, she accepts gingerly.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I say and then turn to Alexis, "I truly am."

"It's alright," Alexis replies, "I just can't believe I'm meeting Katniss Everdeen _the_ Mockingjay." I laugh and smile at her,

"Well I'm glad to meet you too." Alexis smiles and I look back to my mum, "Ready to go?" She nods and we start the journey back to the Victors Village. Once we get there I put on the kettle and everyone takes a seat in the kitchen.

"You have a lovely home Katniss," Nicole compliments,

"Thanks, Haymitch, Peeta and I spend a lot of time here," I reply,

"Well it's gorgeous," she says and then looks to the wall holding a painting Peeta did for me of the forest. Nicole gets up from her seat and walks over to it, "Did Peeta do this?" She asks.

"Yeah he did," I reply with a small smile at the memory, "He gave it to me as a present for my seventeenth birthday."

"It's beautiful," Nicole whispers,

"Nicole is very good at art, especially painting," Alexis boasts for her older sister, Nicole blushes and looks back to the painting.

"I'm alright," Nicole says, too humble for her own good.

"Don't say that, you're amazing," Alexis smiles. They seem close like Prim and I were.

"Well you and Peeta should get together and paint something," I say,

"Really?" Nicole asks surprised,

"Yeah, he'd love it! He'll probably love to have another artist around other than Haymitch and I," I laugh and they all join in. Alexis gets up and walks over to where her sister is admiring the painting. I turn to my mother and smile. But her face is serious.

"Katniss there is something I've got to ask you," She says her voice monotone and very low,

"What is it?" I ask concerned, keeping my voice low as well.

"Are you and Peeta... Involved in any special or intimate way?" Her voice is quiet, but I still look over my shoulder to Nicole and Alexis to see if they're listening. I blush deep red and shake my head,

"No! Mother why would you think that?"

"Well I'm just taking precautions, because you're too young to get pregnant and frankly I don't think you could handle a baby at the moment. So just in case I brought you birth control, for both you _and_ Peeta," She defends,

"Okay, okay. But no we are not... involved like that we're just friends and nothing but," My mother goes to speak again but she's cut off by Alexis.

"So where is Peeta?" She asks,

"Probably with our friends Thom and Ridge, or in Town helping with the clean up. Not that there is much to do anymore," I reply. Where is Peeta?

"Oh," is all Alexis replies, "I really want to meet him,"

"Calm down Alexis you'll meet him soon," Nicole says calming down her sister. Once the tea is ready we all make small talk and talk about twelve. I find out that Mum and Nicole are moving to district twelve with in the next few months, but are here for a couple of weeks to help get the hospital up and running. Alexis is moving here with Nicole because of their parents and Nicole has full custody of her. I make us some lunch and get them set up in the spare bed rooms. When they're all settled in we all go back down to the kitchen for another cup of tea, and as I'm pouring them out there's a knock on the door. I rush over and open the door, Peeta stands in the door way looking very confident and very cute. I really can't handle this right now.

"Peeta," I start, "Now's not really a good tim-" I'm cut off by Peeta's lips crashing into mine, but I don't kiss back for a second. Then it's like my instincts take over and I wrap my arms around his neck, intertwining my finger with the curls at the back of his head. His hands that rest around my waist pull me closer, and then he wraps his arms around me. I pull him closer into me, if that is even possible and deepen the kiss. The emotion I got in our first and second games comes rushing back to me and I'm overwhelmed with this feeling of want. I hear a 'cough' and Peeta and I break apart, but our bodies are still tangled together. My mother stands there with her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face. Nicole and Alexis stand behind her with shit-eating smiles plastered on their faces.

"Peeta," She greets, "So nice to see you." My face is deep red and I look up to see Peeta mirroring my look.

"It's nice to see you too, Ms. Everdeen. I haven't seen you since thirteen, how have you been?" Peeta says, as if she didn't just catch him assaulting her daughter's mouth with his. Peeta nods to Nicole and Alexis in greeting and they wave back happily.

"I have been great, district four is wonderful. I see you and Katniss have become good_ friends_," She replies,

"Mother!" I hiss, and then look back at Peeta and then down at our_ still_ tangled bodies, I blush real hard.

"Well I better be going, sorry to crash your party," Peeta mumbles and breaks the embrace.

"Okay bye Peeta," My mother sing-songs as Peeta walks out the door, I follow him. Just as he starts to walk down the steps I grab his arm and turn him towards me,

"What was that for?" I question, trying to sound mad, but ultimately failing coz I can't hide my joy. Peeta just kissed me! I do a little dance in my head.

"I'm sorry," he replies guiltily, he must of thought that I am angry. He continues, "I just had to kiss you, if I had waited another second I would have died, seriously." I smile and blush, I look down to the ground to hide it,

"Really?" I say looking up at him once more,

"Absolutely," Peeta laughs. _God I could kiss him right now_, I think to myself. I smile, _and I am going to kiss him right now_.

"Good," I whisper into his ear. I can feel him shudder. I place kisses all along his jaw line until I come to his lips, I stop and he looks down at me pleadingly. I smirk up at him, and place one lingering kiss on his lips. I'm the one to break the kiss, "We will talk about this later," I say before sending a wink Peeta's way and heading back into my house. I go back into the kitchen where Alexis, Nicole and my Mother are waiting.

Nicole scoffs, "Friends my ass." Alexis bursts out laughing and my face has returned to a bright pink hue.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. But for your information I was not expecting that at all," I counter back.

"Okay whatever you say," She says and drops the subject. _Wait!_ So she did hear my mothers and I conversation in the kitchen.

* * *

><p>After Peeta's little visit, my mother takes Nicole and Alexis on a tour of the district, well what's left of the district. I'm fighting a battle in my head, do I go see Peeta or wait? I mean we really need to talk about what happened before. My brain hurts so much from thinking about it, so in the end I decide to go talk to him and since my mother is out now couldn't be a better time. I make my way over to his place a but nervous, what's gonna happen between us? If things don't work out between us, is it going to be awkward? Or what if things go really well. C'mon Katniss get your shit together. I'm hesitant to knock at first, fuck what am I going to do, what am I going to say? Maybe I should just go home and think about it. Just as I turn around and start walking down the porch steps, Peeta's front door swings open.<p>

"Katniss, what are you doing here?" Peeta asks, shit. I turn around and smile politely.

"I was just coming over to talk but I don't know what about," I reply, "I'll come back later."

"No!" Peeta interrupts, "Come in, I was actually just on my way to go talk to you,"

"Really?" He was?

"Yeah to apologise for before," He says, blush crawling onto his cheeks,

"Oh you don't have to apologise," I mumble,

"Do you want to come in?" Peeta asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure," I smile and follow into the kitchen. Peeta pulls out two glasses and pours us out some orange juice.

"So about before I'm really sorry, I didn't know your mother was here," Peeta apologises,

"Peeta, I said it was okay," I tell him, "I have actually wanted you to kiss me for a while now," I murmur,

"Really?" Peeta asks, literally spitting out his juice at the information,

"Yeah," I answer not willing to give away anymore than I already have.

"We'll then can I kiss you again?" He asks shyly,

"Pardon?" I ask shocked? Peeta wants to kiss me again? I look at Peeta and see his confidence rising, he's so... handsome.

Peeta turns to me full on and moves closer towards me. "Katniss, I'm going to kiss you now," He whispers into my ear, I shudder which causes Peeta to smile. He grabs my waist and hoists me up onto the kitchen counter. I grab his head and pull it towards mine. Our lips crash together and I let out a sigh, I feel Peeta laugh against my lips. I pull away and give him a questioning look.

"What?" I ask, he laughs even more.

"Do you like it or something?" Peeta questions,

"What?" I ask even more confused than before,

"Do you like it when I kiss you?" He smiles cockily, I roll my eyes,

"Duhh," I sigh, he laughs again before pulling me into another kiss. This kiss is more heated than the other one. I wrap my legs around his torso and he wraps his arms around my waist hoisting me up and carrying me to the living room, never breaking the kiss. He lays me down on the couch and hovers over me. Peeta's the one to deepen the kiss, not that I mind though. He trails kisses down my neck, and I arch it for him to get better access. "Peeta," I breathe, he moans in response, "We need to take this slow," I manage to stutter out. Peeta nods but continues to kiss my neck,

"I know," He sighs into my neck, stopping the kisses, "But I need to be close to you." _Fuck_. Peeta sits up on the couch properly and I sit up next to him, but he just pulls me onto his lap. "Why now Katniss?" He asks into my hair, before placing a kiss on my scalp.

"What do you mean?" I ask curious,

"Why do you want me now?" Peeta questions. _Why now? Because when I thought you were dead, and I realised I couldn't handle loosing you. Then I wondered why I couldn't handle loosing you, and I understood that you love me and get me and want me, no matter how messed up and crazy I am. And I will always understand what you go through, what you have been through. Except for your attacks but, hey - if I can handle being in two Hunger Games and being the face of a Rebellion, I can handle a little attack. I need you Peeta Mellark, just as much as you need me._ I think to myself. Or at lest I thought I did, Peeta's eyes are flooded with tears and he has a small smile on his face. I must of said it aloud.

"Really?" He whispers to me, I nod and he kisses me again. "Okay Miss Everdeen, I'll make you a deal," Peeta says when he breaks the kiss, I quirk my head to urge him to continue, "If you promise to _never ever_ leave me again, I will promise you to _never ever_ leave you again. Deal?" He asks.

I laugh and nod my head, "You've got yourself a deal mister Mellark." We talk a little while longer, I tell him that I got the supplies for the book and that we can start on it soon. Peeta seems genuinely excited to do the book, and he tells he about all the different types of art media he can use to create the pictures of the people. We then talk about the capitol and then I remember that I got Peeta's medication this morning. "Oh! I got your medication from the train station for you this morning, do you want me to go get it now?" I ask, Peeta is surprised and thankful.

"Thank you so much, I forgot about that! Yeah you can go get it, I'll clean up a bit," he says before placing a sweet and tender kiss on my mouth. I go home and retrieve the medicine for Peeta, my mother is sitting in the living room - where I left his medication - knitting a blanket or something.

"Were you with Peeta?" she asks with out looking up from her knitting,

"Yeah," I reply picking up the box, "Why?"

"Your lips look swollen," She says looking up at me,

"And..." I trail off blushing furiously,

"Your hair is messy." I shrug and whistle quietly, avoiding my mothers eyes. "Just be careful Katniss, I don't want you to get hurt. Haymitch told me what he did to you a couple of weeks ago," She lets out a sharp breath of air, setting down her knitting.

"That wasn't him," I defend,

"I know but it has become apart of him Katniss," She breathes,

"He has been through hell and back mum! You can't tell me to stay away from him, I have lost him too many times to count and I can't loose him again. We have finally grown back together," I'm crying now. "Please don't tell me to stay away from him," I whisper. My mother gets up from her place on the couch and hugs me.

"I'm sorry honey, but I'm just worried about you," She sighs into my hair. My mother pulls back and holds me at arms length, "It's just my little girl has grown up way too fast, faster than any child should have to, and I know I am almost completely responsible for it." My mother is crying too now,

"Mum I'll always be your little girl, but I know how to handle myself, and don't you worry Peeta will take good care of me," I smile. My mother gives me a kiss on the forehead and one last hug before I leave. I literally run to Peetas' house, I crash through the front door and head into the kitchen. No sign of Peeta, I check the dining room and then I hear a cry from the living room. I rush towards the sound and find Peeta sitting on the floor gripping the leg of one of the arm chairs for support_._ He irises are pools of black and his face is frightened. I stride over to him and hold his face is my hands. "Peeta honey, look at me, look at me," I soothe. His eyes flick up to meet mine,

"Katniss you need to go, I'm going to hurt you," Peeta whispers painfully. I grip his arms and anchor him there,

"No you will not Peeta, you will fight this," I ecourage,

"I can't," He wimpers, "I'm going to hurt you, you need to leave, please Katniss." He begs,

"No Peeta. I am not leaving you, I'm going to help you through this, okay?" He nods. I whisper soothing words to him, but he's getting restless. To hold him down I straddle him, and pin his arms down with my hands. He resists but - to my surprise - I hold him down. He chest heaves and his breaths become struggled, sweat is collecting on his forehead. "Peeta," I whisper, "You can fight this. You are one of the strongest people I know, you can do this." After about fifteen or twenty minutes of me holding Peeta down and whispering soothing words to him, his breaths become more calm and his eyes are slowly returning to their vibrant shade of blue. He looks up at me and smiles.

"Thank you," Peeta whispers,

"It's alright, I knew you could do it," I reply with a war smile. I get off of him and help him up the stairs to his bedroom, I tuck him in and place a soft kiss on his lips. "Do you want me to stay?" I ask.

"No, I'm worried that I'll have another attack and I don't want to risk hurting you," He says, pain obvious in his voice.

"Okay," I sigh, "I'll see you tomorrow, and remember to take some medication." Peeta smiles and nods.

"You know what?" He asks amused,

"What?" I shrug,

"I could really use another kiss, you know to help me feel better and all," He smiles innocently,

"Oh really?" I ask,

"Oh yes," Peeta laughs, I contort my face as if I'm thinking about it,

"Do you really want one?" I tease and he nods,

"Really, really badly," Peeta sighs,

"Okay then," I breathe and lean down to give him a sweet and slow kiss. "All better now?" I ask when I break the kiss, he nods,

"Definitely," Peeta replies. I give him one last kiss before I make my way home, my mother, Nicole and Alexis are already in bed. I look at the clock 10:42pm, I guess it's bed time for me as well then. I go to my bedroom and slip into my pyjama's, and then slide in between my cool covers. It's hot tonight, but I left the window open so a soft breeze is passing through. I drift off into a sleep filled with nightmares.

* * *

><p><strong>Soooo, Hey guys! What's up? I hope you guys are having lovely holidays, and I hope you have a happy Christmas! I send all my love.<strong>

**P.S. Please leave a comment! Love ya's xx ~ A**


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